Courses to build life skills

Learn life skills with the largest charitable provider of adult education in England and Scotland. Adult learning isn’t like school. Everyone belongs at the WEA. You’ll get meaningful, and tailored support, so you can reach your full potential. Our classes are friendly and fun, designed for adults like you. We won’t talk down to you and you’ll learn skills that you’ll use in everyday life.

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What are life skills?

Simply put, they are skills that make everyday life easier. Life skills include cooking, budgeting, communicating with others, health, well-being and managing emotions. Sometimes this means learning new things, and sometimes it means building on things you already know.

Sometimes adulting can be hard. These courses can help make it feel just that bit easier, make you feel more independent and empower you to face the future ahead.

Small steps to larger goals

You don’t have to have big goals in mind. Just take small steps towards boosting your skills and improving your wellbeing. Whether it is learning to budget better or cook healthier food. Building your confidence or gaining independence. There is a course for you.

When you study with us, you will:

  • Build your confidence
  • Learn new life skills
  • Improve your everyday life and wellbeing

Take a look at our great range of courses and start making a positive change today.

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Cooking on a Budget

Cooking homemade food doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Learn how to feed the whole family with tasty and affordable meals in this cooking on a budget course. This is a cooking and personal finance course rolled into one. You’ll get practical budgeting tips you can apply in the kitchen. This course is ideal for you if you’d like to learn how to cook homemade meals on a reduced budget.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 07/10/2024 -
Mon 11/11/2024
Times:
10:00am - 1:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
The Centre, Newlyn (Penzance)
Chywoone Hill
Newlyn
Penzance
TR18 5AR
Tutor:
Tiffany Coates
Course code:
Q00017051
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £63.00

Step into Care

Begin your journey into the care sector with our Step into Care course. Learn essential skills and knowledge required to provide high-quality care to clients. Ideal for individuals considering a career in care or looking to enhance their caregiving skills.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 07/10/2024 -
Fri 11/10/2024
Location:
Norwich Central Baptist Church (Norwich)
Duke Street
Norwich
NR3 3AP
Course code:
Q00018611
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.00

Multiply Essex - How to be safe online

Are you interested in buying and selling online? This course looks at ways to keep safe online including how to avoid online scams and delivery fraud. We focus on what you need to consider when selling your own items online covering topics such as taking photos and pricing appropriately. We also look at some marketing techniques that are used to encourage people to make a purchase. Your rights as a buyer forms part of the course as does how to work out if something is a genuine bargain or not.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 07/10/2024 -
Mon 14/10/2024
Times:
9:30am - 11:30am
Duration:
3 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Paula Hellal
Course code:
Q00018837
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Multiply - Maths for Work

This Multiply Maths for Work course, is designed to help you build confidence in everyday math skills. You'll learn how to solve practical problems using basic math, like adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. We'll cover topics such as working with percentages, fractions, and measurements, all with real-life examples. The course is perfect for those who want to improve their math for work, study, or daily tasks. By the end, you'll feel more prepared to tackle math in real-world situations. This course is suitable for beginners and anyone needing a refresher.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 07/10/2024 -
Mon 18/11/2024
Times:
3:00pm - 5:30pm
Duration:
7 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Humera Mehrban
Course code:
Q00019073
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

WEA Membership

For just £15 a year, you can:

  • Join our popular, award-winning weekly lecture series,
  • Access an archive of over 100 past lectures,
  • Get priority online and phone booking for autumn courses (England only),
  • Receive our Highway magazine and access back issues,
  • Attend our members’ annual conference.

Just add us to your basket to sign up today!

Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
£15

The Secret Power of Yoga: Sutra

Discover the wonderful practice of yoga with this introduction to yoga philosophy course according to Patanjali’s five foundational philosophical concepts (YAMAS) in the traditional text, THE YOGA . Whether you are seasoned yogi or just initiating an interest, you will love this course. This is a friendly course providing a nourishing blend between physical practice and theory. The aim is to help you discover how the practice of yoga can deepen your spiritual practice and bring more awareness to your life while practising having the self confidence to express yourself. It is ideal for those who want to keep physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually fit. It will offer you guidelines, like helping hands, to move you deeper into your own authenticity and into a life that is richer and fuller, simply because you are living with more skill. This course is ideal for people who like to contemplate how to live more skilfully as individuals and as a community.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 08/10/2024 -
Tue 17/12/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Ione Harris
Course code:
Q00017035
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £81.40

Healthy Living: Body Stories

This friendly creative writing course will invite you to enter into relationship with your bodies and surroundings. The session will be held in a supportive way and will integrate some simple meditation (adaptable to all bodies), prompts for creative and reflective expression through writing, and even some environmental science! You will be guided to a holistic understanding of person and place. This course is ideal for people who like to write and to contemplate how to live more skilfully as individuals, as a community and in relationship with their surroundings. There will be time for sharing small parts of your writing towards the end of the workshop but no pressure, it’s about an unfolding individual/shared creative process and participants need to feel at ease to write freely.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 08/10/2024 -
Tue 26/11/2024
Times:
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Ione Harris
Course code:
Q00018844
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £59.20

Healthy Living; Lipreading and managing hearing loss

The act of looking is so closely bound up with the act of writing. Novels depend upon those moments when an author presses the pause button and allows their characters to just stop and look at something. This course will explore how photos, especially, can be used as a vital stimulus for creative writing. Over two days, you will explore the work of some of the world’s finest photographers, from Andre Kertesz to Garry Winogrand, all projected upon the screen. You will then be encouraged to look even closer and see where these images take your own writing. The course will also consider how established writers have engaged with the art of photography, from John Berger to Susan Sontag, Tony Harrison and Geoff Dyer. Most importantly, you will encourage you to find a way of using your own photos as a way of unlocking your own hidden powers of writing and observation. Come along and join our friendly lipreading group at The Centre in Newlyn. This class is suitable for all levels of lipreaders and is ideal for those recently experiencing hearing loss. Our experienced tutor will guide you through the basics of lipreading and show you how to practice your lipreading skills in everyday life. Research has shown that attending a lipreading class can give you greater: • Confidence to communicate with others • Control over your hearing loss, as you develop new communication skills • Independence, as you’re less reliant on others to help you follow conversation (Source RNID.org.uk) You will learn in a supportive environment alongside other learners who will be able to share their experiences of hearing loss and learn how to overcome them together

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 10/10/2024 -
Thu 21/11/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
The Centre, Newlyn (Penzance)
Chywoone Hill
Newlyn
Penzance
TR18 5AR
Tutor:
Janet Corbett Marston
Course code:
Q00016904
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.40

Excel and managing finances

The Multiply course, offered online by WEA in Essex, is perfect for beginners without a Level 2 maths qualification who want to upskill in Excel and financial management. This course provides a foundation in using Excel for budgeting, financial tracking, and data analysis—key skills for today’s job market. You’ll learn basic Excel functions, financial calculations, and practical problem-solving tailored to real-world financial scenarios. With online learning and support from an experienced tutor, this course helps you build confidence in handling finances, enhancing your employability and preparing you for work-ready roles.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 10/10/2024 -
Thu 10/10/2024
Times:
10:00am - 1:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Chris George
Course code:
Q00019266
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
8 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Personal Development: Moving on and Creating a Plan

Moving into a new home is a busy time and for some it can be the first time they have lived independently. How to maintain our own health and personal hygiene during this busy time can be a challenge, the outcome of this course is to give you an understanding of the tasks that need to be completed to maintain ourselves whilst we are also busy maintaining our homes and busy lives. On completion of this course learners will be able to Understand the importance of personal hygiene. Understand the importance of caring for clothes and other laundry. Understand the importance of a balanced diet to a healthy lifestyle. Understand the importance of exercise to a healthy lifestyle.

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 11/10/2024 -
Fri 11/10/2024
Times:
11:00am - 3:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
St Petroc's Parish Centre (Bodmin)
Church Square
Bodmin
PL31 2DP
Tutor:
Julian Roberts
Course code:
Q00017489
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £16.80

Confidence to Learn

Would you like to learn new skills or change jobs? It can be hard to get back into learning after a long break. This confidence training will prepare you to feel comfortable stepping back into the classroom. This short course can help you bridge the gaps in your confidence and overcome the obstacles standing in your way to get back into learning. The objective of this course is to get you into a positive mindset to achieve your goals. You will practise a variety of confidence-building exercises to help that mindset shift come from within.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 14/10/2024 -
Mon 18/11/2024
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Tricuro -Parkstone Connect Day Centre (P
Croft Road
Poole
BH12 3LD
Tutor:
Guest Speaker
Course code:
Q00012203
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £63.00