Compassionate Schools Hub
Mental health platform for schools
Project Details
Client
ISS Innovation Hub, Lancaster University
Timeline
May 2024 – Present
Role
Junior Front-End Developer
Technologies
Project Overview
The Compassionate Schools Hub is a joint initiative between Lancaster University's ISS Innovation Hub and Lancashire's Emotional Health in Schools & Colleges service (LEHSS). The platform equips schools with the insight, resources and community support they need to build a genuinely compassionate, mentally healthy environment.
Why It Matters
County-wide impact
Commissioned by Lancashire County Council to serve every school-age setting in the county.
Award-driven
Guides schools toward the LEHSS Compassionate Award, turning continuous improvement into a recognised credential.
Core Functionality
Public-facing Features
Community Scrapbook
Success stories, photos and tips from peer schools.
News & Events
Rolling feed of training days, workshops and conferences.
Resource Library
Downloadable toolkits, research and best-practice guides.
Secure School Dashboard
Audit Tool
Self-assessment against evidence-based mental-health standards; auto-generates action plans.
Training Dashboard
Tracks completion of bite-sized CPD modules.
Scrapbook Manager
Upload, tag and schedule stories for the public scrapbook.
Award Checklist & Submission
Step-by-step tracker culminating in digital submission for panel review.
My Contribution
Led UI prototyping and built responsive, WCAG-AA-compliant layouts with Chakra UI and TypeScript.
Implemented role-based authentication (staff, headteacher, assessor) and protected routes via Next.js middleware.
Wrote Jest unit tests (95% coverage) for critical components (Audit wizard, Resource cards).
Co-designed GraphQL schema in AWS AppSync, enabling real-time audit autosave.
Engineered a single-source Azure DevOps pipeline that compiles the Next.js app, provisions/updates AWS resources via Terraform, and syncs build artefacts to versioned S3 buckets.
Pair-programmed with the infra team on Terraform modules for least-privilege IAM and lifecycle policies.
Active member of two-week Scrum (planning, estimations, code reviews, retros).