Starting Blocks
Responsive website
Research shows quality early education and care leads to better health, education and employment outcomes later in life. Finding the right early childhood education is hugely important to families.
Over 18 weeks we redesigned and launched the new look StartingBlocks.gov.au – Australia's free government website for families to find early childhood education services and learn about quality early learning.
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Startingblocks.gov.au website is an essential resource providing information and access to Australia’s early childhood education and care.
Centred around the National Quality Framework (NQF), ACECQA's family focused website provides parents and carers with the tools to find and compare services, calculate their childcare subsidy, and access valuable information resources.
Research shows quality early education and care leads to better health, education and employment outcomes later in life. 90% of a child’s brain develops by age five, and their earliest environments and experiences are crucial to brain development and the foundation for learning.
Centred around the National Quality Framework (NQF), ACECQA's family focused website provides parents and carers with the tools to find and compare services, calculate their childcare subsidy, and access valuable information resources.
Research shows quality early education and care leads to better health, education and employment outcomes later in life. 90% of a child’s brain develops by age five, and their earliest environments and experiences are crucial to brain development and the foundation for learning.
Finding the right education is of huge importance to families. The current landscape is filled with outdated information, across fragmented experiences, leaving them frustrated and unsure.
Not only that, but the previous StartingBlocks website was built on an old version of Umbraco and was weeks away from the software's official end of life. Over time, the old site had become bloated and useful information was scattered across many cluttered pages.
How can we provide an experience that provides a clear path to quality information and tools to help them find the best educational start for each child?
Not only that, but the previous StartingBlocks website was built on an old version of Umbraco and was weeks away from the software's official end of life. Over time, the old site had become bloated and useful information was scattered across many cluttered pages.
How can we provide an experience that provides a clear path to quality information and tools to help them find the best educational start for each child?
A key challenge was ensuring StartingBlocks.gov.au website continues growing to meet the unique and varied needs of children and their families:
— A simple intuitive search with powerful filtering helps them make sense of options and confidently compare available services.
— Straightforward calculators help parents understand their subsidy entitlements, with explanations of childcare terminology along the way.
— The design helps families make sense of the National Quality Standard (NQS), which sets high national benchmarks for children’s education and care services, by surfacing it throughout the experience.
— A simple intuitive search with powerful filtering helps them make sense of options and confidently compare available services.
— Straightforward calculators help parents understand their subsidy entitlements, with explanations of childcare terminology along the way.
— The design helps families make sense of the National Quality Standard (NQS), which sets high national benchmarks for children’s education and care services, by surfacing it throughout the experience.
Together our strategy for this project built around leveraging digital to deliver the best possible user outcomes.
At the heart of this was a process of co-creation with experts from ACECQA and over 15+ hours of customer testing. We took an inclusive approach to research, due to the diverse nature of people seeking early learning and care. We made sure to include all types of centres, age of children, a mix of metro and regional, ATSI, EAL/D, and children with diverse needs.
Finally, external accessibility testing ensured our design and internal testing process was accurate and fit for use by all users.
At the heart of this was a process of co-creation with experts from ACECQA and over 15+ hours of customer testing. We took an inclusive approach to research, due to the diverse nature of people seeking early learning and care. We made sure to include all types of centres, age of children, a mix of metro and regional, ATSI, EAL/D, and children with diverse needs.
Finally, external accessibility testing ensured our design and internal testing process was accurate and fit for use by all users.
“I want to thank you deeply Sam for your leadership, patience with all of our feedback, and your excellent customer service. We’ve all learnt so much from you and our door is always open. I hope we can work together again in the future.”
“This opened my eyes to a whole bunch of things as far as really understanding those national quality standards that you're looking for.”
“It has been inspiring to see how design research and user testing has ensured we cater to families from all walks of life. Moreover, by raising awareness of the NQS and promoting high-quality early education, this platform is helping to shape the future of early childhood education in Australia.
It's inspiring to see how design innovation can drive positive change at scale, and I do not doubt that StartingBlocks.gov.au will continue to make a lasting difference."
It's inspiring to see how design innovation can drive positive change at scale, and I do not doubt that StartingBlocks.gov.au will continue to make a lasting difference."
