Building an Accessible Education Platform with AI
How we partnered with C&G Education to create a modern, accessible website that streamlines referrals and recruitment — using AI as a pair programming partner for rapid delivery without compromising quality.
C&G Education
C&G Education is a specialist alternative education provider working with young people aged 15–25 who have SEND or SEMH needs. They deliver practical, hands-on learning through community-based programmes, work experience placements, and direct teaching.
"To equip students with the skills, confidence and experience they need to move forward — through practical learning of professional skills that prepares them not just for work, but for life."
Project Overview
- Industry
- Alternative Education / SEND
- Project Type
- Website Redesign & CMS
- Platform
- Laravel 12 + Statamic v5
- Hosting
- Laravel Cloud + Cloudflare R2
- Services
- Full-Stack, DevOps, Training
The Challenge
Outdated Website
The existing site lacked modernity and failed to communicate C&G's professional approach to alternative education.
Accessibility Gaps
No WCAG compliance — a critical issue for an organisation serving young people with additional needs.
Manual Workflows
Referrals and recruitment handled through email and manual processes, creating administrative overhead.
Developer Dependency
Every content update required developer intervention, slowing down communications and increasing costs.
AI as a Pair Programming Partner
Rather than fully automated code generation, we used AI as a pair programming partner — combining human expertise in client relationships, design direction, and business requirements with AI capabilities in code generation, debugging, and technical implementation.
Project Architecture
Generated complete Statamic CMS configuration, collection schemas, blueprints, and content structures.
13 YAML SchemasFrontend Development
19 Antlers templates with responsive layouts, mobile-first approach, and consistent design patterns.
~2,000 Lines CSSSecurity & Forms
Secure form handling with CSRF protection, input validation, file uploads, and GDPR-compliant data processing.
Security-firstAccessibility
Built all UI components to WCAG 2.2 AA standards with skip links, ARIA labels, and keyboard navigation.
WCAG 2.2 AAFeature Implementation
Full-text site search, cookie consent, dropdown navigation, case studies collection, and insights system.
Complex FeaturesDevOps & Deployment
Laravel Cloud configuration, Cloudflare R2 storage integration, and automated deploy hooks.
Production ReadyHuman Review at Every Stage
Every AI-generated output was reviewed by senior digital leaders for security, performance, and maintainability. AI accelerates the work — humans ensure the quality. This hybrid approach delivered enterprise-grade code at startup speed.
Codebase Statistics
Key Features
User-Friendly CMS
- Statamic control panel with intuitive interface
- Flexible Bard content blocks (hero, text, images, CTAs)
- Role-based permissions for different team members
- Job listings, insights, and case studies collections
Integrated Form System
- Referral forms with document upload support
- Recruitment application system
- Automated email notifications to team inboxes
- GDPR-compliant data handling with cloud storage
Full Accessibility
- WCAG 2.2 AA compliant throughout
- Full keyboard navigation support
- Screen reader optimised with ARIA labels
- Contrast ratios ≥ 4.5:1 for all text
Performance & Security
- Page loads under 3 seconds
- Optimised images with lazy loading
- SSL encryption and security headers
- Laravel Cloud + Cloudflare R2 storage
Lessons Learned
What AI Excelled At
Consistent Code Generation
Maintained design patterns across 19 templates, applied accessibility attributes consistently, generated well-structured code.
Rapid Iteration
Quick implementation of client feedback, multiple feature additions in single sessions, immediate bug fixes and refinements.
Technical Problem Solving
Diagnosed production 500 errors from logs, identified syntax issues, proposed and implemented workarounds.
Where Human Expertise Was Essential
Client Communication
Understanding nuanced requirements, interpreting feedback like "navigation looks crowded", managing expectations and priorities.
Design Direction
Overall aesthetic decisions, brand interpretation, visual hierarchy choices that reflect the organisation's mission.
Quality Assurance
Visual review of generated designs, testing user flows, verifying production behaviour, security validation.
Technology Stack
The Results
40-50 hrs vs. 80-120 hrs typical
Full accessibility compliance
Zero dev dependency post-launch
Optimised performance
The AI-assisted approach meant we got a professional, accessible website far quicker than we expected. The team truly understood our mission to support young people with additional needs, and that's reflected in every detail of the site.
The Takeaway
This project demonstrates that AI-assisted development is not about replacing developers — it's about amplifying their capabilities. The combination of human expertise in client relations, design direction, and quality assurance with AI's speed, consistency, and technical breadth produced a professional, accessible, and maintainable website in significantly less time than traditional development.
The C&G Education website now serves as a strong digital presence for a meaningful organisation, helping connect vulnerable young people with the support they need.
Ready for similar results?
Whether you're in education, healthcare, or any sector that values accessibility and quality — we can help you launch faster without compromising standards.