Region of Durham launches online tool that indicates school readiness for children

Whitby, Ontario – The Region of Durham is launching the interactive Durham Early Development Instrument (EDI) tool to show how ready children are to learn in school.

The EDI is a questionnaire completed by teachers for all senior kindergarten children. The questionnaire was developed at the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University and helps indicate school readiness based on five developmental areas:

• Physical health and well-being: children are healthy, independent and rested each day.
• Social competence: children can play and get along with others, share and show self-confidence.
• Emotional maturity: children can concentrate on tasks, help others, show patience, and are not often aggressive or angry.
• Language and cognitive development: children are interested in reading and writing, counting, and can recognize numbers and shapes.
• Communication skills and general knowledge: children can tell a story and communicate with adults and children.

The interactive EDI tool developed by the Region displays high and low scores in Durham Region and the province. Children with higher scores are ready for school, and those with low scores are not ready to learn in school.

This tool will help demonstrate strengths and weaknesses, shows patterns over time, and indicates how children will do in elementary school.

Explore the Early Development Instrument at durham.ca/DurhamEDI and select the “EDI data in Durham Region” button to access the tool.

Quotes

“The Durham Early Development Instrument tool is a great new resource for families to access, as it will help them make informed decisions for their children. It will also benefit the child care community by identifying strengths, weaknesses and patterns over time. Children’s Services, which develops resources such as the Early Development Instrument tool, is just one of the many reasons that Durham Region remains the best place in Ontario to raise a family.”

- Stella Danos-Papaconstantinou, Commissioner of Social Services

– 30 –

For media requests, please contact CorporateCommunications@durham.ca.