Middle Childhood Survey

In 2015, all Year 6 students enrolled in participating schools in NSW were invited to complete the MCS during class time. The research team sought advice and support from many different groups, including Parents' and Community groups, School Teachers’ and Principals’ associations, and from representatives of the Government, Catholic, and Independent education sectors, to develop an online (Internet) survey which asked students to report on their own thoughts, feelings, behaviour, and experiences. The self-report survey was completed by students via an online platform, designed specifically to enable the administration of the survey during class time, with minimal involvement by class teachers. The research team had no direct contact with children who completed the survey, and the online data collection platform was managed by an independent third party to ensure that individual privacy was maintained (i.e., the research team will never be privy to the identities of the children who completed the survey).

The development and administration of the MCS was only possible owing to the support provided by school sectors and stakeholders. The NSW-CDS appreciatively acknowledges the support provided by the NSW Department of Education, the Catholic Education Commission NSW, the Association of Independent Schools of NSW, NSW Primary Principals’ Association, NSW Teachers Federation, Independent Education Union NSW/ACT, Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of NSW, Council of Catholic School Parents, NSW Parents’ Council, Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association and the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.

Child responses obtained from the MCS are being examined on a community basis, to understand patterns of child mental health and wellbeing across the state, and to encourage community and government participation in the planning and provision of essential services for healthy child development. The MCS data are also being combined with information from other organisations using record linkage procedures that maintain privacy. Record linkage provides a unique and safe way to look at a range of factors in childhood that may have risk or protective effects for a range of outcomes during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Record Linkages are undertaken by a third party (CHeReL) according to strict privacy protocols that are protected by NSW State and Commonwealth laws.

The MCS data, in combination with information from record linkages, will remain useful for many years in helping to identify childhood predictors of long-term mental health, education, social, and other outcomes in the population. The research team will work with our government partners, using the MCS data and linked records from government agencies, to provide schools, governments, and others with information that can be used to develop policies and programs that promote healthy development for all Australian children.

An agency to support record linkage in NSW (CHeReL: the Centre for Health Record Linkage) has been funded by the NSW Government in order to make best use of the important information contained in administrative records that are routinely collected (e.g., hospital admission information). With this support from the government, information from these rich and varied sources can now be used for public benefit, allowing researchers to examine health, education, and other information at a population level. This is important because it means that everyone is able to contribute to plans for better public health policy and programs. For example, MCS data linkages with administrative records or other routinely collected data will help us to better understand how factors such as birth complications (for example, prematurity) might affect a child’s emotional readiness to learn at school, or more generally, how patterns of mental health in the population compare in urban and rural parts of NSW. This kind of information will help local communities and governments develop and deliver programs for young children that promote healthy development. Examples of databases that may be linked to the MCS include, but are not limited to, records from children and their parents on health (e.g., information on hospital admissions), education (e.g., literacy and numeracy skills), welfare (e.g., information from Family and Community Services), and/or justice records (e.g., information on crime statistics).

The Middle Childhood Survey (MCS) collected information about children’s mental health and wellbeing. It was designed to measure individual variation in thoughts, feelings, actions, and experiences, as well as social skills, sleep patterns, and family and community networks. The results cannot be used to diagnose individuals with any types of illness, and cannot be used to “label” children. Instead, the survey questions provide an index of mental health and wellbeing in this NSW population of children aged around 11 years.

The MCS questions have been used in other studies with children of similar ages from many different countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the Netherlands, and others. The domains of function assessed, and procedures for delivery, were developed with input from the various Reference Groups who represented the views of Schools/Teachers and Parents/Communities, as well as the study Scientific Committee, and the NSW Government, Catholic, and Independent education sectors, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

In 2015, all schools with students enrolled in Year 6 were invited to assist in administering the Middle Childhood Survey in class time. If the School Principal agreed that the school could participate, all Year 6 students of that school were invited to complete the online (Internet) survey about their mental health and wellbeing. This enabled the same cohort of children who were assessed using the Australian Early Development Census in 2009 to provide self-reported information on their thoughts, feelings, and experiences at a critical age in middle childhood.

A total of 829 schools (approximately 35% of the state total of 2376 eligible schools) agreed to administer the MCS to Year 6 students in 2015. The participating schools included 556 public (67%), 199 Catholic (24%), and 74 Independent schools (9%).

A total of 27,808 children took part in the MCS. This included 14,054 males and 13,754 females. Of these students, 26,854 (96.6%) completed all questions (responded to 116 items), while 954 students did not finish the survey (3.4%). We are very grateful to those children and schools who participated in the MCS in 2015.