AGE
Technical name: Person - age, total years N[NN]
METeOR identifier: 303794
METeOR link: <http://meteor.aihw.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/303794>
METeOR definition: The age of the person in (completed) years at a specific point in time.
Scope
Inclusions: The age of the child, for all children enrolled in a preschool program.
Exclusions: Children not enrolled in a preschool program.
Underlying Concepts
Concept: Age.
Nominal definition: Consistent with METeOR.
Operational definition: The number of children that are enrolled in a preschool program, disaggregated by enrolments, attendances and single year of age. Please see the data item list in Chapter 1, Collection Specifications for specific disaggregation and cross classification of this data element as specified in the 2012 National ECEC Data Request.It must be noted that data collected at the aggregate level will be published as episodes of enrolments or attendance, not number of children enrolled or attending. This is because it is not possible to identify duplicate records within aggregate collections, once jurisdictional service provider data are merged.
Supporting data elements: Age is not provided as an individual data element and must be cross classified and reported in conjunction with the following data elements:
Conceptual issues:
- Age disaggregations will provide contextual information on enrolment and attendance data.
- The child's age should be collected in completed years as at 1 July in the collection year.
- The nominal and operational definitions of Age differ due to the aggregate collection and reporting methodology.
Standard Jurisdictional Output Categories
The following output instructions refer to the format in which the data should be provided to the ABS. This differs to what is presented in METeOR 'Value domain attributes'. What is presented in METeOR represents the way the data element would be collected if it was in URL form. The following outlines the format of the data as it should be provided to the ABS at aggregate level.
Representation class: Total
Data type: Number
Format: N[NNNN], for example: 113
Maximum character length: 3
Supplementary value:
999 - Unknown/not stated
Guide for Use
This data element must be cross classified and reported by the supporting data elements listed above.
Counting rules:
- Collate the numbers of children cross classified by single year of age and Indigenous status, total enrolments and total attendances for each service provider.
- Calculate the age of each child in completed years. For example, if a child is aged 4 years and 9 months as at 1 July of the collection year, the child would be recorded as being aged 4 years for the purposes of this collection.
Classification Definitions
CODE 999 – Unknown/not stated
For use as a response in instances where the age of the child is unknown.
Other Information
Related URL data element: Date of birth.