National Tutoring Programme
Building an accessible, high-performing website for NTP
Client
The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) was created by the UK Government in order to help those whose education was negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Randstad, a global leader in the HR services industry, was hired by The Department for Education to deliver the systems to connect tutors and schools nationwide.
Challenge
Novagram was approached by Randstad to develop a new version of the all-important website at the heart of the program. Working closely alongside Randstad, which was under immense public scrutiny, and working to a tight deadline, we were asked to deliver a site that integrated with the Salesforce systems that connected academic mentors and tuition partners to schools (and ultimately individual children) in need of assistance.
Further requirements were that the site had to be compliant with Web Accessibility Content Guidelines (WCAG 2,1), be fully user-editable and achieve a performance score of at least 90 (out of a maximum of 100) on Google’s PageSpeed Insights test.
In addition, the project required us to recommend then manage a hosting provider and security systems to keep this high-traffic site running smoothly day and night.
Approach
We began by familiarising ourselves with the NTP brand which had already been established. It was important that we worked within the constraints of the provided guidelines in order for there to be some continuity with a previous iteration of the website.
We developed the site using WordPress in order to balance the needs for a fast initial build, easy user-editing and speedy page-loading. And we researched UK hosting providers, working to exacting criteria, to make a recommendation for a Word-Press specialist package that we felt was best suited to the website. Furthermore we advised on firewall security and built a maintenance routine and logging system for the site. As part of the build, our newly-developed website easily withstood an independent pentest.
Novagram trained members of Randstad’s marketing team on how to build and edit pages on the NTP website, conducting online training sessions as well as providing thorough written and video guidance. We also collaborated with Venerate, an IT supplier in the UK and India, to integrate the website with NTP’s sophisticated Salesforce systems.
Results
We delivered a clean, modern website capable of handling hundreds of thousands of page views every month. It delivered the NTP message clearly and directed traffic towards the three possible routes for funding.
Our knowledge and skill with developing high-performing WordPress websites led to an exceptionally high performance score of 94/100 on Google’s PageSpeed Insights test, far exceeding expectations.
The NTP website we created was delivered on budget and on time, and was directly approved by the Department for Education.