COMMUNITY PROFILE
Raymond Terrace and Karuah NSW
Background information
Raymond Terrace is a small urban community in the Hunter Valley and falls under the Port Stephens Local Government area. It is the main business and service hub for a number of small townships including Karuah (pop.1530) 30km to the north. Raymond Terrace has a population of 12,490 of which 2244 (17.96%) are aged 0-9. There is a high proportion of public housing with over 700 dwellings and five residential caravan parks. The RAAF base is an integral part of the history of the town which serves as the commercial centre for RAAF personnel. The RAAF currently employs 2600 people, 86% of which are men. Port Stephens Local Government Area is the traditional home of the Indigenous Worimi Nation and both Raymond Terrace and Karuah have relatively high Aboriginal populations. The leadership and coordination for the AEDI project was undertaken by The Smith Family and the Family Action Centre, The University of Newcastle (as the facilitating partners for the Raymond Terrace and Karuah Communities for Children local initiative).
Raymond Terrace and Karuah
Number of schools participating Number of participating teachers Proportion of children with English as a second language 5 13 3.1% Proportion of eligible schools Number of participating children Proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children 100% 229 8.3%
Summary of AEDI findings
Physical health and wellbeing domain: (Child is healthy, independent, ready each day) Social competence and wellbeing domain: (Child plays, gets along with others and shares, is selfconfident) Emotional maturity domain: (Child is able to concentrate, help others, is patient, not aggressive or angry) • 12.0% of the children are considered developmentally vulnerable. • There are 30.7% of children performing well.
• 13.6% of the children are considered developmentally vulnerable. • There are 24.6% of children performing well.
• 13.2% of the children are considered developmentally vulnerable. • There are 28.5% of children performing well.
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Australian Early Development Index: Building Better Communities for Children
Language and cognitive skills domain: (Child is interested in reading and writing, can count and recognise numbers, shapes) Communication skills and general knowledge domain: (Child can tell a story, communicate with adults and children) Vulnerable on one or more domain (Children who are below the AEDI cut off on one or more domains) Performing well on one or more domain (Children who are in the top 25%)
• 29.8% of the children are considered developmentally vulnerable. • There are 2.6% of children performing well.
• 14.1% of the children are considered developmentally vulnerable. • There are 40.3% of children performing well.
• Overall there are 39.1% of children vulnerable on one or more domains.
• Overall there are 54.2% of children performing well on one or more domains.
Australian Early Development Index: Building Better Communities for Children
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