Australian Early Development Census
Guide to Communication skills and general knowledge
Resources for Queensland early childhood education and care services

The AEDC domain Communication Skills and General Knowledge, can help to inform curriculum programming, planning and quality improvement in early childhood services.   Educators build children's capacity to communicate by modelling clear and rich language skills, thereby encouraging children's growing attempts to express themselves appropriately.  Paying attention to obstacles or impediments to clear communication skills, for example, speech delays, processing difficulties or development disorders, is vital.

Educators can scaffold children's thinking and exploration through the use of open-ended questions and use of print or media-based resources such as posters, books, pictures can also prompt an extended and inquiry.

Children experiencing vulnerabilities in this domain will benefit from educators adopting a slower pace in order to respond to children's interests and questions.  Allowing for repetition in play, may allow children time to practise and build their skills and understanding.

Educators can support families through: talking with parents about how children enter, engage in and exit play; offering information sessions about language and speech development, clearly showing the learning opportunities in every day experiences while discussing or documenting children's play; sharing photos of their child engaged in play and offer suggestions on what to do next; sharing centre resources, sharing useful apps and web pages with families.

Early childhood services can also form partnerships to help families to access community services.  Some of the services families and staff can access for support include: local schools, libraries, toy libraries, playgroups, speech and occupational therapists and community health services.

To access the AEDC data please visit www.aedc.gov.au.   
To access further AEDC resources please visit https://earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/about-us/publications-and-research/australian-early-development-census