NEW figures show Wyndham children are more likely to have developmental problems by the time they start school than they were three years ago, as population pressure strains early childhood services.
Census data has revealed that a quarter of Wyndham five-year-olds are considered “developmentally vulnerable” on indexes including social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, and communication and general knowledge.
Australian Early Development Index results, which measured the development of 290,000 children in their first year of school, showed the percentage of developmentally vulnerable children in some Wyndham areas rose from 23.5 per cent in 2009 to 25 per cent in 2012.
The national average fell 1.6 per cent to 22 per cent.
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This follows findings of the One Melbourne or Two report, commissioned by outer-urban councils, which highlighted the gap in services for children in places like Wyndham.
The report said without significant investment, children living in outer areas were at risk of falling behind.
Wyndham mayor Heather Marcus said the census survey revealed what the council had known for a long time.
“As communities increase in size, there’s an increased need for early intervention and prevention programs to support vulnerable families, including playgroups, parenting support programs and three-year-old activity groups.”
Cr Marcus said the figures highlighted an urgent need for further government investment in Wyndham.
Federal Early Childhood Minister Peter Garrett said the national results were “not good enough”.
He said more work was needed to lower the risk for about 60,000 children who were “behind” when they entered school last year.
Cr Marcus said a Wyndham increase in developmentally vulnerable children could also be due to greater numbers of children from non-English-speaking families, which rose from 16.3 per cent in 2009 to 20.4 per cent in 2012.
A joint Smith Family and council program launched last month encourages parents to read aloud to babies as young as four months to build literacy skills.
The Let’s Read program at Wyndham Park and The Grange primary schools is designed to benefit about 500 children, including parents from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Smith Family’s Anton Leschen said it was an important resource for parents from disadvantaged backgrounds. “Let’s Read can help parents introduce children to the joys of reading and put them on a successful path to primary school.”
