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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Personal Development: Intermediate "What Makes You You?"

This transformative 6-week course will help you understand yourself better and unlock your full potential. You'll explore self-esteem, learning how to boost your confidence and inner strength. By reflecting on your life experiences, you'll discover valuable lessons and growth opportunities to shape a brighter future. Additionally, you'll explore different personality traits to understand your strengths and weaknesses, embrace your individuality, and become more adaptable.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 08/01/2025 -
Wed 12/02/2025
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
12 sessions
Location:
KCU Ltd at Fuller Church (Kettering)
51 Gold Street
Kettering
NN16 8JB
Tutor:
Caroline Smy
Course code:
Q00016665
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.40

Lipreading and Managing Hearing Loss

Come along and join our friendly lipreading group in Hayle. 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 09/01/2025 -
Thu 13/02/2025
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Hayle Community Centre
58 Queensway
Hayle
TR27 4NX
Tutor:
Janet Corbett Marston
Course code:
Q00017043
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.40

Ways to Wellbeing: 5 Ways to Wellbeing

On this course you will learn about the 5 ways to wellbeing and how we can embed them in our daily lives.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 09/01/2025 -
Thu 27/02/2025
Times:
11:00am - 4:00pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Location:
NST Hub (North Somerset Training Communi
31 Alexandra Parade
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 1QZ
Tutor:
Katie Dexter
Course code:
Q00009860
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £117.60

Healthy Lifestyle: 5 Ways to Wellbeing

This course will enable you to consider your mental health and ways to stabilise and self-regulate your wellbeing. You will learn about different strategies that can help you re-balance and boost your self-esteem through positive action. The 5 ways to wellbeing is a national programme, which suggests there are five key things you can do each day to improve your overall mental and physical health. These include being more active, practising mindfulness, learning new things, and giving back to others. This course encourages connection with others and how to talk and reflect on ways to have a happier and healthier life!

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 09/01/2025 -
Thu 27/02/2025
Times:
11:00am - 4:00pm
Duration:
7 sessions
Location:
NST Hub (North Somerset Training Communi
31 Alexandra Parade
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 1QZ
Tutor:
Katie Dexter
Course code:
Q00017182
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £147.00

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:
WEA Membership

Personal Development: Understanding your finances

Effective budget planning can make you feel like you’ve had a pay rise. Organising your personal budget and understanding your outgoings is the first step towards healthy financial well-being. And the good news is - budgeting is a skill anyone can learn. This budgeting course is right for you if you want to improve your financial well-being. Whether you’re trying to cope with the cost of living crisis or just want to plan your finances better, this course can help you. You do not need advanced maths skills to take this course. It is appropriate for complete beginners, so don’t worry if this is new to you This course is funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 10/01/2025 -
Fri 07/02/2025
Times:
11:45am - 1:45pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Saima Gulzar
Course code:
Q00015664
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £37.00

Intermediate British Sign Language (BSL)

Knowing how to sign can make your communication more inclusive for everyone you interact with. Build on your skills in British Sign Language to be able to have deeper interactions with deaf people. This BSL course is suitable for you if you need to communicate with deaf people or people with hearing impairments. It can help you in a variety of contexts, for example in a voluntary or community role, or simply through social interactions. This course is aimed at intermediate learners. You will build on your existing BSL skills. If you would like to start from scratch, you can take the beginner’s BSL course.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 13/01/2025 -
Mon 24/03/2025
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Helen Watson
Course code:
Q00012273
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £74.00

Regaining Confidence and Self-Esteem

Do you ever feel unsure of yourself? Perhaps around new people or at job interviews? If so, this self-esteem course can help you build tools to face these situations with confidence. Low self-esteem can hold you back in all areas of life. Whether you’d like to build confidence to step back into education, meet new people, or change jobs, confidence-building courses can teach you essential tools to change your mindset. Learn how to build self-esteem and overcome obstacles that are holding you back. The first step in your journey is believing you can successfully complete this course! Confidence training teaches you how to ask yourself important questions and understand why your self-esteem is low. This is the first step towards changing your inner speech and boosting confidence. Learn techniques to motivate yourself and be more assertive.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 13/01/2025 -
Thu 16/01/2025
Location:
Seetec Pluss Poole
Poole
BH12 1ED
Course code:
Q00017001
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £67.20

Managing Stress

Do you find it difficult to wind down? When we’re stressed it’s hard to feel calm and relaxed. But you don’t have to live with constant stress. There are simple techniques you can learn to manage it. This stress awareness course is helpful for anyone who wants to learn to alleviate stress. In this course we will learn how to identify stress risk factors, recognise the symptoms of stress, and apply techniques to reduce it. Depending on your needs, there are various study options after this course.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 14/01/2025 -
Wed 05/02/2025
Location:
Online
Course code:
Q00016703
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Healthy Living; Lipreading and managing hearing loss

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 16/01/2025 -
Wed 26/02/2025
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:
Q00016909
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.40

Fitness and Exercise: Afternoon Yoga for Everybody

The course is suitable for all ages and for those who have some previous knowledge of yoga practice. The practices will involve a wide range of techniques including posture, breathwork, mindfulness and meditation; study and reflection. Yoga is a traditional and contemporary class where each week there is a guided practice working on a variety of practices and techniques. These include posture, breathing and meditation practices. You will gain an understanding and insight into the subject area as well as leaning ways to improve your general, physical and mental health.

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 17/01/2025 -
Fri 28/03/2025
Location:
Online
Course code:
Q00012610
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £37.00