Just for Parents: A Website on Education

At last year’s MOE Work Plan Seminar, Minister for Education Mr Heng Swee Keat launched the Parents in Education website, an MOE website that brings together a wealth of learning resources, parenting tips and education news. Established by MOE’s Schools Division, the website is designed for parents of school-going children of all ages. They can find out more about the many options and types of schools in Singapore’s education system, and pick up ideas on how they can guide their children in their learning.

The information on the website is broken down into intuitive categories covering primary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as broad categories on resources and references, Singapore schools, and the role of parents in education. There are also regularly updated links to videos on individual schools, education news such as a Talking Point episode on Channel NewsAsia, and recent happenings in schools.

For parents Mrs Loon-Boo Linda and Mrs Wong Terry Jean, the Parents in Education website has fast become their go-to website whenever they need information or inspiration on guiding their children in school. They find that the Parents in Education website is easy for them to navigate. As Mrs Loon-Boo says, “It’s an all-in-one website, so I don’t have to search all over to find information.”

Designed with parents in mind

The MOE team which developed the website was made up of officers from different divisions. They had consulted Parent Support Group (PSG) members from different schools during the conceptualisation of the website. As Ms Toh Sock Hui, Partnerships in Education Officer, explains, “The team was mindful that the website should be easy-to-understand, yet interesting. We aim to provide a unified space that enables parents to easily identify, retrieve, use and share resources, so that they can support their children in their education.”

She adds, “We understand that parents hope to be equipped with parenting tips and learning materials to support their child in academic and character development. This motivated our team to consolidate useful articles and multimedia learning resources that parents can use to engage their child, such as in language learning, cyber-wellness and homework.”

It’s precisely this wide variety of information that Mrs Loon-Boo and Mrs Wong found immediately useful. For Mrs Loon-Boo, whose elder son has completed his ‘A’ levels and younger son is in Sec 4, it was an eye-opener to be able to read the subject syllabuses for the subjects her sons are pursuing in school. “The Literature in English syllabus for secondary school is very comprehensive. I’m thankful to whoever had put together the details,” she says warmly. “It gives a clear picture of what are the different genres covered in literature and what is being assessed.” She finds this particularly helpful because her son is studying Literature on his own as an extra subject.

Mrs Wong, whose sons are in Pri 5 and Sec 1, describes the website as “an invaluable tool.” Articles offering advice such as “Coping with Stress” and “Education and Career Guidance” have been illuminating, and she plans to apply the Mathematics learning resources for primary school to help her son. She also looks forward to learning more from MOE’s seminars for parents, which are publicised on the website.

Effectively supporting children in education

The Parents in Education website was launched as part of MOE’s Partnerships Framework, which Ms Toh explains is a “guiding principle of the home, school and community working hand-in-hand and partnering as one to support the development of the child.” She hopes that the website will encourage parents to participate more fully in home-school collaborations, so that the child can benefit, “grow and shine as a responsible member of the community.”

This rings true with both Mrs Loon-Boo and Mrs Wong, who are active PSG members. Mrs Loon-Boo is the PSG chairperson in her younger son’s school and participates in befriending and outreach efforts to at-risk students. The PSG also runs a café in school, where students can hang out and do their homework after school. In addition, parents will provide snacks and moral support to ‘O’ Level students during the upcoming intensive study period.

Mrs Wong volunteers with her younger son’s primary school’s reading programmes and string ensemble rehearsals, and has been training as a parent facilitator. She says, “The training has helped to build my own self esteem, and enable me to develop a healthy relationship with my husband and sons. It also empowered me to maintain a work-life balance.”

Looking ahead, both parents feel that the Parents in Education website will be useful as they guide their children during key milestones in future, such as preparing for the PSLE and choosing subjects in secondary school. Mrs Loon-Boo hopes that more information can be provided on school clusters and superintendents, advice on handling disciplinary issues and post-‘A’ level education options.

Nonetheless, both parents appreciate the effort that has gone into developing the new website. Mrs Wong says, “This website is an indication that more resources are being given to PSG initiatives.” Mrs Loon-Boo adds that with access to so much information, “parents can be positive and confident and be equipped with information and resources, partnering the schools and supporting our children in their pursuit of knowledge.”