SECTOR CLASSIFICATION

The ‘Sector’ classification is a key derived classification that is used within the reporting of the Collection in Preschool Education, Australia, 2013 (cat. no. 4240.0). This classification is a combination of the ‘service activity type’ classification and the ‘management type’ data items. Further information about these individual data elements can be found within National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: 2013 Data Collection Guide (cat. no. 4240.00.55.002). The relationship in the ‘Sector’ derived classification as it relates to child counts is shown in Figure 3.13.

Management type is not disaggregated within the long day care (LDC) classification due to data availability issues associated with the Child Care Management System (CCMS). A data quality statement for the CCMS can be found in Chapter 6: Jurisdictional Data Quality Statements – Australian Government.

The child classification category ‘Children across more than one provider type’ within the sector classification is derived by the ABS. The example outlined in Figure 3.14 shows how a child may be enrolled in both ‘preschool’ and ‘long day care’. In this scenario, unique child records would be presented under the sector classification ‘Children across more than one provider type’.




SECTOR CLASSIFICATION REPORTING

In 2013, as in previous years, many children were identified as being enrolled in and attending multiple services. More information on child linking methodologies can be found earlier in this chapter.

Table 3.2 outlines various patterns of preschool participation and the corresponding output categories in which the they appear in the 2013 Child tables and in the 2013 Year Before Full-time Schooling (YBFS) Child tables within Preschool Education, Australia, 2013 (cat. no. 4240.0).

Preschool usage scenario	Enrolled and Attending at: PRESCHOOL 1	Enrolled and Attending at: PRESCHOOL 2	Enrolled and Attending at: 1st LDC with a PSP*	Enrolled and Attending at: 2nd LDC with a PSP*	Sector type in 2013 Child and YBFS Tables
Child A	4	-	-	-	‘Preschool’
Child B	4	4	-	-	‘Multiple preschools’
Child C	4	-	4	-	‘Children across more than one provider type’
Child D	4	4	4	-	‘Children across more than one provider type’
Child E	4	-	4	4	‘Children across more than one provider type’
Child F	-	-	4	-	‘Preschool program within a long day care centre’
Child G	-	-	4	4	‘Preschool program within a long day care centre’

*Preschool Program

DERIVED SECTOR CLASSIFICATION

The development of the ECEC provider frame infrastructure, that supports the broader National Collection, facilitates the merging of multiple sources of service provider information to identify unique service providers delivering ECEC services in Australia.

The example presented in Figure 3.15 shows how the same service provider may be reported by a state and territory collection as well as the CCMS. A state or territory may report a state/territory funded ‘preschool’ at a particular location. At the same centre, a long day care program may also operate with enrolled children receiving a preschool program within both preschool and child care components. In this example, a child may be reported by both a state or territory and the CCMS. While the management types for the two programs may be different (i.e. a government preschool and a community LDC), the two programs operate from the same service provider. In these scenarios, the ABS has reclassified the service provider activity type as ‘Preschool program within a long day care centre’ to best reflect the nature of activities delivered by these service providers, within the current framework of the National ECEC Collection Standards.

METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS ON THE NEW DERIVED SERVICE PROVIDER CLASSIFICATION

This section outlines the output implications of the derivation of service provider classifications in the 2013 Collection.

Service Providers

This methodology for the Collection, which first occurred in 2012, results in the movement of service provider records across service activity type categories. This has a potentially significant impact on service activity output with an increase in ‘Preschool program within a long day care’ and a decrease in preschools.

This change in collection methodology will have no impact to states and territories where there is no service provider overlap with CCMS and their collections in 2013.

For 2013 there will be one table of service provider counts produced for the Collection. Table A in the Appendix to Preschool Education, Australia, 2013 (cat. no. 4240.0) the ‘Number of Service Providers delivering an Early Childhood Education and Care Program’ is a count of all service providers in ECEC. The 2013 service provider count was developed by processing service provider information from 2013 state and territory ECEC collections and the 2013 CCMS data submission. The 2013 ECEC count excludes service providers sourced from the National Preschool Census (NPC) as no NPC data were included in the 2013 Collection. Service provider data from the different data sources were compared and service provider characteristics were updated to make use of the best available data. Where the same service provider was located within multiple data files, duplicated records of the same service provider were removed. The same methodology from the 2012 Collection was utilised in the 2013 Collection, which results in some movements across service activity type to more accurately reflect the main activity type occurring at a service provider. For the 2013 service provider count, where a service provider was categorised as a ‘preschool’ within a state or territory collection but concurrently categorised as ‘long day care’ within the CCMS collection, the service activity type ‘Preschool program within a long day care centre’ was adopted. This has resulted in a number of services being re-classified from 'preschool' to 'Preschool program within a long day care centre' within the overall population of service providers. The count of ECEC service providers published in Table A1 relates directly to the published episode and child statistics. For further information please refer to the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Data Collection Guide 2013 (cat. no. 4240.0.55.002).

Child Episode Records

The 2013 Collection utilised as many available episode records attached to a service provider as possible, irrespective of data source. Figure 3.16 below shows how child episodes are utilised in the new collection methodology to increase the accuracy of the number of episodes for inclusion.


In-scope episodes used in output populations include a combination of state and territory-only, CCMS-only and overlapping state and territory and CCMS records. Of the overlapping episode records, only one episode (always from a state and territory collection) is chosen if they are for the same child at the same service provider.

Based on this methodology, episode and child level data presented can be sourced from state and territory-only episodes and/or CCMS-only episodes as well as the overlapping episodes.

Child Episode reconciliation from multiple data sources

Figure 3.16 depicts how the change in 2013 Collection methodology impacts on child episodes. In this example, the state and territory-sourced “Funtime Early Learning Centre” and CCMS-sourced “Funtime Long Day Care Centre” at the same location have been linked within the Collection processes. The derived sector classification methodology has been applied and the service provider has been classified as a ‘Long Day Care’ centre.

All child episodes attached to each collection source (CCMS or state and territory) for a linked service provider (e.g. “Funtime Early Learning Centre” and “Funtime Long Day Care”) now share the same service provider characteristics (management type and service activity type). For all child episodes within a service provider having linked episodes in both a state or territory and CCMS files, only state and territory sourced episodes will be utilised. All episodes within a service provider are utilised for child episodes sourced only from a state and territory file or CCMS. All child episodes from either input file are now classified as Long Day Care and will be counted as episodes of ‘Preschool program within a long day care’ in ABS publication tables.

Previous Page

Next Page