A focus on supported playgroups (SA)

The 2015 AEDC results showed that the trend of higher than average developmental vulnerability had worsened across the Wakefield community. This prompted the Lower Mid North Education Partnership cluster of government preschools and schools to join together on a new multi-faceted project that began in 2017.

The aim of the project was to establish supported playgroups in the Education Partnership, recognising research showing that children who attend playgroup during early childhood have significantly better child development when they start school, and that the benefits of playgroup are seen across all domains of development as measured by the AEDC.

The 2018 AEDC data in the Wakefield region was heartening, showing a decrease in children developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains from 35.5% in 2015 to 22.2% in 2018, lower than the state average. Even more significant from 2015 to 2018, the proportion of children developmentally vulnerable on two or more domains reduced from 26.3% to 11.1%.