Design project for young offenders
EDGE Hill University is helping vulnerable young people learn about design and experience higher education as part of a new partnership with Cheshire Youth Justice Services (CYJS).
Students on advertising and psychosocial analysis of offending behaviour courses are working with young offenders on a collaborative project to design a new logo for the service.
As well as teaching them new skills, the project also aims to inspire the young people to continue their education in the future.
During March, a group of children from the youth justice team enjoyed two hands-on sessions in Creative Edge where they learned about the design process and developed their ideas alongside the students.
They also had the opportunity to tour Edge Hill’s up-to-the-minute TV and radio studios.
Tom Dooks, senior manager of partnerships, prevention and business development at CYJS, said: “Children in the justice system are some of our most socially disadvantaged and vulnerable.
“This new partnership with Edge Hill University provides a fantastic opportunity for young people with an interest in art and design to engage in meaningful, productive activity, alongside students and academics, as part of their rehabilitation.
“This will hopefully motivate and inspire them not only to desist from offending but even to think about furthering their own education.”
The young offenders are not the only ones to benefit from the partnership.
CYJS is supporting the university students’ employability, not only through this project, but also via work placements and support for applied dissertations.
The first placements are due to begin in September, when students will also have the opportunity to pitch their ideas for research projects to a panel made up of staff and students from Edge Hill and offenders, practitioners and managers from the Youth Justice Service.
Mariana Andrade, senior lecturer in advertising, said: “I think this collaborative project is a great opportunity for advertising students to simulate a real client-agency situation in which they have to respond to the given tasks, organise their time and produce a professional standard logo.
“All of these are part of the employability skillset we want to provide for them in preparation for the industry.”
Carol Wilson, employability lead in the faculty of health and social care, added: “This mutually advantageous partnership gives our students the valuable opportunity to gain some of the important skills required in the employment market, something that will make them stand out from the crowd.”
The winning logo design will be announced shortly.