Preschool enrolment

What is being tracked?

Measure: Proportion of children enrolled in a preschool program in the year before full-time schooling (YBFS) who have disability, compared with proportion of children aged 4 to 5 years who have disability in community

The Strategy was set to see the following tracked – proportion of children with disability enrolled in a preschool program the year before full-time schooling vs representation in community. Measure wording has been revised to clarify its intent.

This measure is part of the Participation in early childhood education priority of the Strategy. This priority is about helping children with disability to be ready to start school.

The desired outcome is that the gap between the proportion of children enrolled in preschool programs who have disability and the proportion of children with disability in the community is reduced.

Last updated: 05 Oct 2023

Outcome area: Education and learning Priority: Participation in early childhood education

Baseline value

6.2%with disability in preschool program in 2021

7.6%with disability in community in 2018
Latest value

6.3%with disability in preschool program in 2022

7.6%with disability in community in 2018

No change the latest data are similar to the baseline

View the data source

Trends

Has the proportion of children enrolled in a preschool program in the year before full-time schooling (YBFS) who have disability, compared with the proportion of children aged 4 to 5 years who have disability in the community changed over time?

Preschool/community	% of children with disability
In preschool program 2018	6.2%
In preschool program 2019	6.8%
In preschool program 2020	6.0%
In preschool program 2021	6.2%
In preschool program 2022	6.3%
In community 2018	7.6%

Notes:

Data are reported by State and Territory governments and are not directly comparable because the definition of disability varies across jurisdictions.
The YBFS population is an estimate of a single year cohort for the population that will transition to full time schooling in the following year. The preschool starting age varies across jurisdictions (see table 3.1 in the 'Service overview' of SCRGSP 2023). The state-specific YBFS definition uses the preschool and school age entry provisions of the state or territory in which the child usually resides.
Data on children enrolled in preschool programs are for July/August in the respective year.
Data on representation in the community are sourced from: ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers. These data are comparable across jurisdictions.
"Children with disability" refers to a child that has a need for additional assistance in any of the following areas (learning and applying knowledge, education; communication; mobility; self-care; interpersonal interactions and relationships; other - including general tasks, domestic life, community and social life) compared to children of a similar age, that is related to underlying long term health condition or disability (long term is longer than six months).
State and Territory data are based on the location of the child's main service (other territory locations are included in State and Territory and Australian totals).
In NSW, a child with disability and/or additional needs is defined as a child for whom the preschool has documentation (NDIS Reference number) or written diagnosis/assessment on letterhead signed by relevant professional/specialist (Source: The NSW Mid-Year Census for government preschools (2018) and ECEC Preschool Census (2018)). This number does not include children receiving a preschool program in a long day care setting.
For Victoria, data with disability cannot be identified for 3 year old children who attend the Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) Program, although ESK children are included in the denominator.
Tasmania data include government enrolments only.

Sources:

State and Territory governments (unpublished) as reported in SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision) 2020. Report on government services. Part B: child care, education and training. Chapter 3. Early Childhood Education and Care.
State and Territory governments (unpublished) as reported in SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision) 2021. Report on government services. Part B: child care, education and training. Chapter 3. Early Childhood Education and Care.
State and Territory governments (unpublished) as reported in SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision) 2022. Report on government services. Part B: child care, education and training. Chapter 3. Early Childhood Education and Care.
State and Territory governments (unpublished) as reported in SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision) 2023. Report on government services. Part B: child care, education and training. Chapter 3. Early Childhood Education and Care.
ABS 2019, Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2018, Cat. no. 4430.0, Canberra; ABS (unpublished).

Source: Report on Government Services (RoGS) | Data source overview

State and territory

Does the proportion of children enrolled in a preschool program in the year before full-time schooling (YBFS) who have disability, compared with the proportion of children aged 4 to 5 years who have disability in the community vary between states and territories?

The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of children enrolled in a preschool program in the year before full-time schooling (YBFS) who have disability, compared with proportion of children aged 4 to 5 years who have disability in community, grouped by Australian states and territories. Data on children enrolled in a preschool program in the YBFS who have disability are reported by State and Territory governments and are not directly comparable because the definition of disability varies across jurisdictions. In 2022, the proportion of children enrolled in a preschool program in the YBFS who had disability was 9.3% for New South Wales, 4.7% for Victoria, 7.1% for Queensland, 3.3% for Western Australia, 9.5% for South Australia, 5.6% for Tasmania, 0.5% for the Australian Capital Territory, 17% for the Northern Territory and 6.3% nationally.

State/Territory	With disability in preschool program (2022)	With disability in community (2018)	95% Confidence Interval
National	6.3%	7.6%	(6.2%–9.0%)
New South Wales	9.3%	6.6%	(4.2%–9.0%)
Victoria	4.7%	5.3%	(2.1%–8.4%)
Queensland	7.1%	9.5%	(6.1%–13.0%)
Western Australia	3.3%	9.2%	(5.8%–12.6%)
South Australia	9.5%	*13%	n.p.
Tasmania	5.6%	*17%	(4.6%–30.2%)
Australian Capital Territory	0.5%	*25%	(11.0%–38.5%)
Northern Territory	17%	n.p.	n.p.

Notes:

n.p. not published Results have been suppressed to avoid identifying individual people and due to volatility caused by small numbers.
# Proportion has a Margin of Error (MoE) >10 percentage points, or proportion ± MoE is <0% or >100%, or MoE could not be calculated as RSE was concealed in source data which should be given consideration when using this information.

Data are reported by State and Territory governments and are not directly comparable because the definition of disability varies across jurisdictions.
The YBFS population is an estimate of a single year cohort for the population that will transition to full time schooling in the following year. The preschool starting age varies across jurisdictions (see table 3.1 in the 'Service overview' of SCRGSP 2023). The state-specific YBFS definition uses the preschool and school age entry provisions of the state or territory in which the child usually resides.
Data on children enrolled in preschool programs are for July/August in the respective year.
Data on representation in the community are sourced from: ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers. These data are comparable across jurisdictions.
MoEs for community representation of children with disability based on AIHW analysis of ABS Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2018, TableBuilder, accessed July 2022.
"Children with disability" refers to a child that has a need for additional assistance in any of the following areas (learning and applying knowledge, education; communication; mobility; self-care; interpersonal interactions and relationships; other - including general tasks, domestic life, community and social life) compared to children of a similar age, that is related to underlying long term health condition or disability (long term is longer than six months).
State and Territory data are based on the location of the child's main service (other territory locations are included in State and Territory and Australian totals).
In NSW, a child with disability and/or additional needs is defined as a child for whom the preschool has documentation (NDIS Reference number) or written diagnosis/assessment on letterhead signed by relevant professional/specialist (Source: The NSW Mid-Year Census for government preschools (2018) and ECEC Preschool Census (2018)). This number does not include children receiving a preschool program in a long day care setting.
For Victoria, data with disability cannot be identified for 3 year old children who attend the Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) Program, although ESK children are included in the denominator.
Tasmania data include government enrolments only.

Sources:

State and Territory governments (unpublished) as reported in SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision) 2020. Report on government services. Part B: child care, education and training. Chapter 3. Early Childhood Education and Care.
State and Territory governments (unpublished) as reported in SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision) 2021. Report on government services. Part B: child care, education and training. Chapter 3. Early Childhood Education and Care.
State and Territory governments (unpublished) as reported in SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision) 2022. Report on government services. Part B: child care, education and training. Chapter 3. Early Childhood Education and Care.
State and Territory governments (unpublished) as reported in SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision) 2023. Report on government services. Part B: child care, education and training. Chapter 3. Early Childhood Education and Care.
ABS 2019, Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2018, Cat. no. 4430.0, Canberra; ABS (unpublished).

Source: Report on Government Services (RoGS) | Data source overview

Where did these data come from?

Data on preschool enrolment come from administrative data collected by the Australian Government Productivity Commission.

Learn more about these data

Next page Year 10 completion

Preschool enrolment

What is being tracked?

Baseline value

Latest value

Trends

Has the proportion of children enrolled in a preschool program in the year before full-time schooling (YBFS) who have disability, compared with the proportion of children aged 4 to 5 years who have disability in the community changed over time?

State and territory

Does the proportion of children enrolled in a preschool program in the year before full-time schooling (YBFS) who have disability, compared with the proportion of children aged 4 to 5 years who have disability in the community vary between states and territories?

Where did these data come from?

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