MOE Preschool Redesign

Problem

Parents were unclear about preschool education landscape; they find that the MOE website had content gaps such as insufficient information teaching approach or curriculum.

For preschools other than MOE Kindergarten (MK), they are actually overseen by Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) which parents did not know. There was a need to clarify the role between them to reduce the anxiety because parents want to prepare their children well for Primary 1.

"Does anyone know if there's any difference between a PCF kindergarten, MOE kindergarten and those private kindergartens? Which is better in preparation for them to go to Primary One?"
Source: KiasuParents

There was also a disconnect with the experience as the MK website was a microsite outside of the corporate MOE website.

Role
Product designer

Scope
End-to-end design execution, stakeholder and user interview, usability testing, cross-functional collaboration

Timeline
April - July 2019

Discovery

Conducted a backend analysis of the MOE FAQ website, focusing on the top queries received through the MOE Customer Service Centre.

Discovered that enquiries about the registration process and outcomes have steadily increased each year since 2016. The top topics parents visit the website for include:

Fees and subsidies
Enrolment process
Priority to Primary school
MK locations
Kindergarten Care (KCare)

Research

Conducted 7 user interviews with parents preparing for preschool application

We conducted synthesis sessions with stakeholders to build a shared, holistic understanding of the problem and users. This also surfaced diverse insights from multiple perspectives.

We went through the interview notes, write down interesting quotes or observations on post-its and cluster the post-its into themes. We discussed the most compelling themes which helped generate the key insights below.

Insight 1

There was insufficient information on the website, particularly regarding the teaching approach, curriculum, and school fees or subsidies.

Insight 2

Proximity is one of the most important criteria for parents. They tend to prioritise preschools that are convenient and accessible from their home or workplace.

Insight 3

Videos and photos of MK preschools are useful for parents who are unable to attend open houses. These materials help them get a better sense of the environment and facilities.

Solution

Enhancing the Preschool section of the Ministry of Education (MOE) website

Information all in one place

Parents can learn more information about preschools in general and also navigate to MK easily

Clarifying between MK and preschools under ECDA

We moved the MK microsite into the corporate MOE website to create a seamless experience. The challenge was to balance our current branding of the MOE corporate website with the MK microsite to retain it as a distinctly branded section on the corporate website.

With the redesign, we also wanted to place top tasks such as curriculum more prominently.

We came up with the design by using the brand collaterals that the stakeholders provided.

Integrating MKs into SchoolFinder

Parents will be able to search for MKs near them. They can also further narrow down which MK is part of the Early Centres (EYC) pilot collaboration.

Parents can find schools easily with the filters and shortlist MKs they are interested in

Information such as programmes, contact and partner EYCs available on school detail page

Fees and financial assistance upfront

We made "Fees" as one of the main navigation so that parents can find it easily. We also built a KCare subsidy eligibility checker for parents to check if their child is eligible for additional subsidy.

Information about fees, financial assistance and other expenses

Parents can enter their details to get answers quickly

Exploring MK virtually

Parents who are unable to attend open houses will get to explore an MK virtually. This includes information about the learning spaces.

Get to learn about each space and how it it being utilise for learning

Parents can navigate through their devices to check out the MK environment

Results

The feedback from the public was very positive, with many noting that the information in the website was quite comprehensive and they were able to view information at a glance rather than finding it in different sources.

Helping parents to understand the preschool landscape better