As workplaces have become increasingly digital, so too have classrooms. The global e-learning industry has grown by 900% in the past two decades and is projected to be worth $375 billion by 2026, according to Oxford Learning College.
For long-established charities, this shift has created new pressure to modernize how they educate and engage the public.
So, adapting to the new habitat it finds itself in, The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) saw a 38% rise in engagement after launching a new digital education platform.
The 200-year-old charity, founded in 1824, is synonymous with animal protection and has long promoted animal welfare education to schools across England and Wales.
But as digital learning increasingly becomes the norm, the organization recognized that its traditional educational materials, delivered via printed materials and static PDFs, was falling short of what teachers and students expect in a connected world.
“Our education materials were well loved, but they weren’t living up to their potential,” says Vanessa Sparkes, program manager for digital transformation at RSPCA.
“We needed to bring them to life in a way that matched how people actually learn and teach today.”
From PDFs to a digital platform
RSPCA’s educational programming focuses on teaching animal welfare and empathy through lessons that can be integrated into science, PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education) and citizenship classes.
Until recently, those lessons were distributed largely as downloaded PDFs.
That approach posed three main challenges.
First, guidance and best practice in animal care evolve constantly as research deepens. Updating and redistributing static materials was cumbersome, leading to outdated information circulating among schools.
Second, the organization had no way to track how teachers or students were engaging with its resources. Once a file was downloaded, there was no visibility into whether it was used effectively.
Finally, there was little room for interactive learning. Educators and students wanted hands-on experiences — fieldwork, outdoor learning and digital activities that complemented classroom teaching — that the existing format couldn’t support.
A new digital home for animal welfare education
To bring this vision to life, RSPCA turned to Liferay, a digital experience platform, as well as implementation partner Webtown.
With the team assembled, RSPCA set a goal of launching a fully functional, educator-friendly website before the start of the new school year.
Despite the tight deadline, the project team delivered the new site on time.
“We created a fun, beautiful, and engaging journey, despite the complexity behind it,” Sparkes says.
“People love it because it’s intuitive and easy to use. Liferay has so much capability, and Webtown was really helpful in helping us get the most out of it.”
The result is a content-rich website that bridges online and offline experiences. Teachers can now access up-to-date lesson plans, printable resources and interactive activities.
After completing sessions, they can upload results directly into the system and generate certificates for students — turning learning outcomes into something tangible.
Data-driven impact
One of the biggest advantages of the new platform is measurability. For the first time, RSPCA can see how its educational resources are being used, which topics resonate most and how effective its materials are in fostering learning outcomes.
During pilot testing, RSPCA saw engagement jump to 78%, from 40%, with some activities achieving participation rates as high as 90%. Overall engagement across the site has now risen by 38% since launch.
This visibility allows the charity to continually refine its materials and ensure its resources stay relevant and impactful.
