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6 Early school engagement andperformance (preschool to year 3)Strategic areas for actionEarly childdevelopmentand growth(prenatal toage 3)Early schoolengagementandperformance(preschool toyear 3)PositivechildhoodandtransitiontoadulthoodSubstanceuse andmisuseFunctionaland resilientfamilies andcommunitiesEffectiveenvironmentalhealth systemsEconomicparticipationanddevelopment- Preschool and early learning- School attendance- Year 3 literacy and numeracyThe indicators in this chapter concentrate on the early years of schooling. Actions toimprove early years school attendance and learning can improve outcomes in theimmediate, medium and long term for Indigenous children.As a result of consultation after the 2005 Report, the preschool and schoolattendance indicator from the 2005 Report has been split into two separateindicators — one for preschool and early learning and the other for schoolattendance. The change better reflects the importance of preschool as preparationfor later schooling.There is a growing recognition that early access to early childhood education andcare provides young children, particularly from low-income and second-languagegroups, with a good start in life (OECD 2006). One of the findings from theProgram for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 was that children whoattended preschool for more than a year showed a statistically significantperformance advantage in later school achievement over those without preschoolattendance (OECD 2004). As no data are available on attendance, participation ratesfor preschool are contained in section 6.1.Regular school attendance is critical to successful student outcomes. Children whoare regularly absent from school are at the greatest risk of dropping out of schoolearly, becoming long-term unemployed, being caught in the poverty trap, dependingon welfare and being involved in the justice system (House of RepresentativesEARLY SCHOOLENGAGEMENT ANDPERFORMANCE6.1