Client: Upward Mobility Ltd (Upmo)
Sector: Charity / Social Support / Education
Location: Edinburgh and the Lothians
Services Delivered: Website Strategy, UX/UI Design, Web Development, Accessibility Planning, CRM Integration, SEO

Upmo is a Scottish charity and registered support provider offering tailored support and educational opportunities for adults with learning disabilities and autism in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Through a unique curriculum grounded in the Curriculum for Excellence, Upmo delivers engaging programmes across three core areas: Creative Arts, Health and Wellbeing, and Employability.

At the heart of Upmo’s mission is the social model of disability, the belief that society must adapt to remove physical and social barriers, creating greater independence, choice, and control for disabled individuals creating an inclusive society where adults with learning disabilities and autism can thrive. This inclusive ethos is central to every aspect of their organisation, from classroom practice to digital engagement.

The Challenge

While Upmo’s on the ground impact was significant, its previous website did not reflect the high quality, creativity, or breadth of the programmes it offered. As an informational site, it lacked the ability to:

- Clearly articulate what Upmo does and differentiate it from other support organisations

- Reflect the diverse and vibrant learning activities and students

- Support income generation through donations and shop visits

- Speak effectively to a broad audience including students, Project workers, families, funders, supporters, and donors

The digital brief called for a comprehensive overhaul to meet a wide set of goals:

 

Organisation Objectives

- Raise awareness of Upmo’s mission, programmes, and social impact

- Differentiate Upmo from other providers in the sector

- Drive up direct enquiries from prospective students and supporters

- Encourage donations and generate revenue through the integrated Upmo shop

- Develop a user friendly, engaging website that supports a wide spectrum of users, including those with learning disabilities

- Create an exciting, inclusive homepage that promotes the range of educational opportunities available

- Respect the dignity and autonomy of users through inclusive design and language aligned with the social model of disability

- Ensure full accessibility compliance, including support for Makaton iconography and accessibility controls

- Build within a responsive framework for consistent performance across devices and browsers

- Deliver strong SEO foundations to promote Upmo within target regions

- Integrate an intuitive, scalable content management system (CMS) to allow internal teams to manage updates and content easily

Our Approach
Partnering with Upmo, mtc delivered a full digital transformation project aligned with both their ethos and technical needs.

Key project elements included:

- Inclusive UX/UI Design: Designing clear, friendly layouts with strong visual cues, Makaton support, and intuitive navigation suited to student needs and shared browsing scenarios with supportrs or family.

- Dual Site Functionality: Creating two interlinked layers of content, one for public audiences and one accessible via login for students and staff. This ensures a focused, distraction-free experience for each audience.

- Accessible and Scalable Framework: The site was built with WCAG accessibility standards, fully responsive design, and a scalable CMS that enables easy content updates and expansion.

- Optimised Engagement Pathways: Strategically placed donation prompts and shop integrations across the site help maximise fundraising opportunities and engagement.

- Integrated Salesforce CRM and SEO: Contact forms and newsletter sign ups were connected to a CRM system to allow Upmo to nurture its community, while technical and content SEO was built in from the ground up.

Outcome

The final result is a vibrant, accessible, and deeply respectful digital platform that:

- Raises awareness of Upmo’s work

- Clearly communicates its mission and differentiators

- Provides intuitive navigation for all users

- Enables easier income generation through donations and eCommerce

- Supports current students with a personalised and secure learning area

- Equips Upmo’s team with powerful tools for outreach, engagement, and growth

This project demonstrates the power of design and technology to support inclusion, equity, and creativity. It stands as a model of how organisations working in social support and education can use digital tools to enhance both their message and their mission.

We Build Platforms That Empower People

At mtc, we’re proud to partner with organisations like Upmo that are doing real, meaningful work. Our experience working with regional culture and leisure organisations prepared us to take on this challenge with insight, empathy, and precision.

Interested in how digital tools can help your organisation support inclusion and growth? Let’s talk.