A third of B.C.’s kindergarten students are ‘vulnerable’, says report

A study out of UBC’s School of Population and Public Health shows a disturbing trend in the development of B.C. children about to enter kindergarten.

A third of the provinces 43,000 5-year-olds are entering school vulnerable in at least one area.

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) data collection by the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) has found 32 per cent have one or more vulnerabilities.

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Vulnerabilities include physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, communication skills and general knowledge.

In general the study finds BC children are more aggressive, inattentive, anxious, hyperactive and less respectful then they were when the collection of data began in 2001.

The most vulnerable children tend to reside in the Gold Trail, Prince Rupert and Vancouver Island West regions, where over 50 per cent of children are vulnerable.

Revelstoke has the least amount of vulnerable children at only 9 per cent.

In the Lower Mainland, 35 and 36 per cent of children are classified as vulnerable in Vancouver and Richmond respectively. But worse-off neighbourhoods like Strathcona have a higher rate over 50 per cent.

But it’s not all bad news – literacy is up.

To learn more, check out the 2016 Provincial EDI Results.