Working in Partnership With Gardiner Richardson
is a strategic communications and marketing agency in Newcastle, renowned for its award-winning brand and communications projects. The Hedley鈥檚 Beyond team has been collaborating closely with Gardiner Richardson since 2025.
The partnership first began when Jen Hallam, managing director of Gardiner Richardson approached the Beyond team to discuss collaborating on a client project to review content. Following a successful interview, a learner at Northern Counties School was assigned the position of content reviewer and presented their findings.
How did the partnership progress?
Following this initial project, a guide of top tips for creating an Accessible Communications Guide was developed to encourage broader student and service user involvement.
In June 2025, Jen coordinated an Employer of the Month session at Northern Counties School, where learners reviewed social media and marketing content, providing feedback on accessibility. Drawing on this input, Jen and the Gardiner Richardson team created a guide on accessible content, which was then transformed into a visually engaging document by adult learners from Hedley鈥檚 Horizons Media Group.
The guide was published on our website and attracted attention via social media, including coverage from BBC Radio. The collaboration was further showcased at a Purple Tuesday webinar hosted by the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative (NGI) in November where a service user shared key tips from the guide. The team also featured in an NGI podcast in December 2025, highlighting the project鈥檚 success and encouraging businesses in the Visitor Economy to adopt accessible content practices.
The project exceeded expectations, generating wider interest in our work and demonstrating the impact of meaningful collaborations. The students and service users whose feedback and dedication made the guide possible are largely attributable for the guide’s success, as well as Gardiner Richardson for their creative support and NGI for providing platforms to share our work.
Grainger Market Project
Following the success of the guide, we were invited to collaborate on a second project celebrating Newcastle鈥檚 historic Grainger Market. Our Hedley’s Horizons Media Group created engaging content highlighting the market鈥檚 role in the local community and the services they offer, helping to raise awareness and encourage more visitors to this much-loved North East destination.
Our adult members Richard, Daryn and Frankie put in tremendous effort to create content that perfectly met the brief, and Grainger Market couldn鈥檛 be happier with the results. Check out some of their fantastic work here!
Partnering with Gardiner Richardson has been a truly rewarding experience for everyone involved.
The Gardiner Richardson team has enhanced the accessibility of their communications, showcased themselves as a forward-thinking employer, and benefited from outstanding work produced by the people we support.
Meanwhile, our adult members and learners have gained valuable work experience, developing key skills such as meeting deadlines, following briefs, presenting their findings with confidence and navigating the professional world with confidence.
Would you like to work in partnership with us?
If your organisation would like to collaborate on a meaningful project or placement like this, we would love to hear from you.
Please contact Kerry Robinson, Hedleys Beyond Project Manager at [email protected]