Skip links
Novus Foundations for Change
What we do
What we do Education and Training Creative Arts Adult Provision Youth Provision Our Locations
Work with us
Work with us Partner Employers Employer Charter Adult Provision Partnerships Youth Provision Partnerships
Careers
Prison Education Jobs Teach With Novus
About
About us Mission, Vision & Values Our People Our Story Our Conferences Our Podcast Equality and Diversity
News

Contact us

  • What we do
  • Work with us
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Latest news
  • Contact us
  1. Homepage
  2. News
  3. Sowing the SEED at HMYOI Wetherby

Sowing the SEED at HMYOI Wetherby

Youth Provision


Tue 17 Dec 2019
Close-up of someone creating a model house using woodwork techniques

An innovative architecture project at HMYOI Wetherby is changing the mind-set of a group of young learners and giving them the skills they need for a successful rehabilitation. 

The project is led by architect Karl Lenton, a member of the SEED Network, which promotes the idea that design matters and can be used to support communities to better themselves.  Karl worked with the Novus education department at HMYOI Wetherby to give the young people a grounding in some of the basic skills of architecture. 

The boys were tasked with studying and surveying their surroundings, before planning and constructing a scale model of the establishment. The tasks encouraged them to think differently about their surroundings and gave them the framework in which they could think about creative solutions to complex problems. Within this environment the boys were drawn to tasks that suited them, rather than designated a role in the project team. 

Karl said: “The first task was to get the boys to observe their environment. I see myself as planting ideas and letting them come up with solutions themselves. We wanted them to think freely and come at their surroundings from a new perspective. Not everyone that takes this course is going to be an architect, but it’s about showing what it is that they can achieve.” 

The project has been embedded into the education provision delivered by Novus within the establishment. Construction Curriculum Leader, Andy Dye has overseen the course and the development of the boys. 

He said: “We have seen how much they have taken on-board and they now know where an education can take them and what they can get from it. They have only being doing this a short period of time and it’s already clear what a difference it can make.” 

The learners who took part in the project have been empowered to work as a team and share the tasks that are culminating in a successful completion of the project. 

As one learner explained: “Straight away we started to take on different jobs for ourselves. There is no one who is in charge we are all just doing it together and doing what we are good at.” 

The education department within HMYOI Wetherby are keen to expand the course to include larger groups in the future, and there is also real ambition to take on larger projects that incorporate learners from different curriculum areas. 

Ben Callendar, Novus Head of Education at HMYOI Wetherby, said: “Thanks to the success of the project we are now able to look forward and see how we can develop our work with Karl. We have begun the process of looking at how the course can incorporate qualifications. Our aim is to keep the spirit of the project intact, but look at what qualifications can be complemented by the work already involved. 

We have all been blown away by what we have achieved so far, but we believe that this project has even more to offer.

Ben Callendar, Novus Head of Education at HMYOI Wetherby

Related Content

View All

News

Adult Provision / Partner / Youth Provision

Neurodiverse needs in prison education

books stacked on their sides in a library

News

Youth Provision

Bridging English Literature and Digital Education at HMP Hewell

Get in touch

Novus
Whitworth House
Ashton Old Road
Openshaw
Manchester
M11 2WH

Enquiries:

enquiries@novus.ac.uk
03333 222 888

Careers:

HRSharedServices@ltegroup.co.uk
0161 674 1363

Quick links

  • What we do
  • Work with us
  • Careers
  • About us
  • News
  • Contact us
  • Colleague HUB

Social media

Twitter Linkedin Facebook Instagram

Novus is a trading name of
LTE Group.

Copyright © LTE Group 2023

SEARCH:

  • Sitemap Terms of use Group Policies Accessibility Data Protection FOI