About Understanding the Early Years

Understanding the Early Years (UEY) is a research project to help communities understand how their children are doing and how to help them. The project gathers information about senior kindergarten children, their families, and their communities. It involves teachers, parents, guardians, community agencies, and the Government of Canada. Communities will use the information to build programs and services to help children reach their full potential in life.

The organizations working together on this project are:

• Social Development Canada (SDC)
• Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario
• Conseil scolaire de langue francaise d’Ottawa-Carleton
• Ottawa Carleton District School Board
• Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board
• Parent Resource Centre of Ottawa
• City of Ottawa
• Success By 6 Ottawa
• United Way/Centraide Ottawa (Child & Youth Impact Council)

The UEY project tells us:

• how well children are developing in neighbourhoods throughout Ottawa
• the strengths and needs in Ottawa
• how ready children in Ottawa are to begin learning at school

Importance of UEY

Research shows that a child's first six years of life set the foundation for their future success. The more we learn about how children develop, the better we can help them be successful. Research also shows that the neighbourhoods and communities where children grow and learn directly influence their development. Examining community-specific information will help make sure the needs of the children are met.

Project Components

The three components of UEY are:

• a community mapping study identifying community risk factors, strengths, and assets
• an assessment of all senior kindergarten students' readiness to learn as measured by the Early Development Instrument (EDI) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY)
• an enhancement of a Community Services Inventory of the local services for families with young children (developed by the Data Analysis Coordinators)
• a community mobilization/communications plan structured around the results of the community mapping study