Prescott College: Personal Responsibility Policy
Using visuals as a way to engage students, support teachers and introduce visual language as a powerful communication tool
The Challenge
Prescott College approached us seeking a way to empower students, support teachers, and actively include families when reinforcing behavioural expectations.
With a culturally diverse school community speaking more than 30 languages, the College needed a solution that went beyond written policy, one that transcended literacy levels, cultural backgrounds, and learning styles. The goal was a clear, transparent framework that could communicate expectations visually, with minimal explanation, and feel fair and accessible to everyone.
At a Glance
- Project:Personal Responsibility Policy
- Client:Prescott College
- Delivered:August 2025
- Duration:2 months
- Category:Education, Illustration, Strategic Comms
Our Approach
At Sketch Group, we use visual storytelling to turn complex frameworks into clear, engaging experiences that people can see themselves in.
From the outset, we knew student buy-in would determine the success of Prescott’s Personal Responsibility Policy. We began with a live Graphic Recording workshop, led by our Chief Doodler, Matt, capturing student perspectives, language, and values in real time with Year 7–11 cohorts. This ensured the policy was built with students, not just for them.
Using these insights, we translated the Responsibility Policy into a series of relatable, real-world scenarios—making expectations clear, relevant, and easy to apply. Students could see their own ideas reflected in the visuals, reinforcing ownership, understanding, and consistency across the school.
To extend the impact beyond the policy itself, we also delivered a visual thinking and sketching training session for teaching staff. This focused on developing teachers’ confidence in using simple sketching techniques as an everyday teaching tool, helping them explain concepts, reinforce expectations, and engage students more effectively through visual communication.
With a shared visual metaphor and early sketches aligned across students and staff, we moved into designing the final Personal Responsibility poster. Through collaborative feedback rounds with the Prescott team, we refined the artwork into a bold, clear visual asset—now displayed throughout classrooms across the College.
The Outcome for Prescott College
The Personal Responsibility Policy is now a highly visible, widely used tool across Prescott College.
The final poster transforms a complex behavioural framework into an accessible visual language that students understand and remember. It supports teachers with a consistent reference point in the classroom and provides families with clarity around expectations and consequences.
By embedding the policy visually across the school, Prescott College has strengthened positive behaviours, addressed issues earlier, and created a more transparent, inclusive approach to responsibility—one that works across languages, cultures, and learning styles.
