Department of Education: Improving Victoria's Find a Kinder website for families

Find a Kinder u2014 redesigned learning experience and digital education product for the Victorian Department of Education by Conduct

CLIENT

The Department of Education

The Department of Education (DE) is responsible for delivering the Victorian Government’s commitment to making Victoria the Education State, ensuring all Victorians have access to quality learning and development regardless of their background, postcode or circumstances.

BRIEF

Enhance the Find a Kinder website to support families navigating Victoria's free kindergarten rollout

With the Victorian Government introducing free kindergarten for children aged three and four, the DE needed to refine and improve its Find a Kinder website, the primary tool parents use to search for kindergarten options near them.

The challenge

The introduction of free kinder expanded the number of families using the site and raised the stakes for getting the experience right. The existing website required parents to navigate options without first understanding the types of programmes available or what the Kinder Tick indicated. The DE needed a partner to identify where the experience broke down.

Parent-centred usability testing

We engaged directly with parents to identify their challenges with the current website and the wider kinder system. Across twelve usability testing sessions with parents of children aged zero to six, we combined contextual background questions with specific set tasks to understand where parents lost confidence or dropped off.

Those insights shaped how we restructured workflows and presented information, resulting in a mobile-friendly, user-validated design. In the revised site, users first learn about the types of kindergarten programmes available and what the Kinder Tick means, giving them the context they need before exploring options on an interactive map.

Find a Kinder Victoria website interactive map shown on desktop and mobile

Mapping out the experience

We began with low-fidelity wireframes to test proposed UX improvements, supported by a detailed report summarising research findings and recommended next steps. We then lifted the wireframes to align with the Victorian Government’s brand guidelines, designing an interface that was recognisable and fit for purpose. Those designs guided the development phase.

Find a Kinder program website displayed on a laptop and mobile phone

Building a modern frontend

In the development phase, we transitioned the site’s frontend from jQuery to React, maintaining existing data connections. A test site was live within a month. We adapted to an older backend system (.NET 4.8 MVC) across local and Azure environments, configuring the backend for dynamic data retrieval and ensuring the new frontend connected cleanly to existing systems.

Technology stack icons representing React, .NET and Azure used to build Find a Kinder Victoria

Our impact

Where parents previously arrived at a map with no context for the choices in front of them, they now reach findakinder.vic.gov.au already understanding the programme types on offer and what the Kinder Tick means. The DE can point families to a site that keeps pace with the policy it supports.