WEA courses

Enhance your well-being through mindfulness practices with our Mindfulness and Wellbeing course. Learn techniques for stress reduction, relaxation, and improved mental health. Ideal for individuals seeking to incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives.

Learners will work with the tutor to improve confidence in their ability to develop their artistic skills and creativity within oil painting. You will be developing the skills to create a detailed landscape painting; challenging yourself to try new and different subjects. You will learn using a range of different teaching and learning activities, to include watching and following step by step demonstrations, with one-to-one help and guidance from a friendly and encouraging tutor. You will learn in a safe, welcoming and supportive environment, working together with your fellow learners and the tutor. This course is suitable for a complete beginner but also for those wanting to improve their existing skills in painting. No prior knowledge is needed, just a desire to learn and begin your journey to develop your artistic skills.

Many people find it difficult to have some “me time” out of a busy life to spend time on a creative activity. This course will give you the opportunity to understand the benefits of indulging in a creative activity and how this can have a positive effect on your mental health and wellbeing. You will have the opportunity to learn the basic skills of a range of different crafts and share skills and knowledge with other crafters. Each session will allow you to try a different craft which may lead you to discover a craft which could become a new hobby for you to enjoy.

Macramé is a creative knotting technique that can be used to make a variety of items, plant hangers, wall hangings, friendship bracelets, belts, and bags. including jewellery and other decorative items. It’s a great way to relax and create beautiful art pieces for your home. Learning new skill is to support learners with their health and wellbeing. Learn a new skill which may be a route into employment / self-employment. During this course your tutor will give you demonstration and individual attention for your guidance. In this course you will be working with a macramé cord and each learner will be able to complete a wall hanger . It can be used by you or can be gifted to the loved ones. This is a continuation of the autumn beginners’ course, but newcomers are also welcome

Learners will work with the tutor to improve confidence in their ability to develop their artistic skills and creativity within oil painting. You will be developing the skills to create a detailed landscape painting; challenging yourself to try new and different subjects. You will learn using a range of different teaching and learning activities, to include watching and following step by step demonstrations, with one-to-one help and guidance from a friendly and encouraging tutor. You will learn in a safe, welcoming and supportive environment, working together with your fellow learners and the tutor. This course is suitable for a complete beginner but also for those wanting to improve their existing skills in painting. No prior knowledge is needed, just a desire to learn and begin your journey to develop your artistic skills.

Learners will work with the tutor to improve confidence in their ability to develop their artistic skills and creativity within oil painting. You will be developing the skills to create a detailed landscape painting; challenging yourself to try new and different subjects. You will learn using a range of different teaching and learning activities, to include watching and following step by step demonstrations, with one-to-one help and guidance from a friendly and encouraging tutor. You will learn in a safe, welcoming and supportive environment, working together with your fellow learners and the tutor. This course is suitable for a complete beginner but also for those wanting to improve their existing skills in painting. No prior knowledge is needed, just a desire to learn and begin your journey to develop your artistic skills.

All our Care2 courses are completely free for unpaid carers (or those who have previously been carers). You do not need to receive a carer's allowance to qualify. If you are unsure, please contact our call centre advisors who will be able to assist you. Leading a busy life leaves little room for calm and relaxation. This can make it hard for us to wind down and enjoy the present. But finding these moments of calm is essential for our emotional well-being and mental health. This short course will support you to improve your mental well-being through guided relaxation practice. You will develop your ability to calm the mind by learning to physically relax your body using body scanning and mindful movement. You will learn to calm the mind through breathing practices and mindfulness practice. You will learn to encourage deep rest of mind and body through guided Yoga Nidra practice and soothing visualisation.

You'll learn about the key pillars of creative writing, which will help you write effective fiction pieces, as well as create an effective creative writing practice. Whether you want to write a novel, short stories, or just write for self-awareness and personal development, come along, and join the class, whether you consider yourself an absolute beginner or someone who has written a little in the past.

To explore the basics of counselling and the profession and discuss how skills in counselling could support interactions in the workplace. This course focuses on an understanding of counselling and developing practical skills. The importance of counselling for the wellbeing of individuals and society is being increasingly recognised. You will be introduced to the nature of counselling and learn and practice active listening skills such as reflecting, paraphrasing, summarising, and giving feedback. The course is aimed at anyone who may be considering either a career in counselling, or wanting to develop valuable helping and listening skills, as well as anyone interested in developing self-awareness.

Do you often feel overwhelmed? Would you like to have more control over your emotions? This course can teach you how to build emotional resilience through effective emotional awareness and confidence-building exercises. It’s easy to feel like everything is getting on top of us during these uncertain times. This Mental Resilience training can help you identify small steps to maintain calm during challenging situations. Avoid feeling like everything is unravelling and learn to deal with challenges when they come. This Mental Resilience training will help you identify aspects of your life or situations that are difficult emotionally. Work together with the group to develop strategies to deal with these emotions without falling apart. Explore various confidence-building exercises to help you handle your emotions. Learn how to build emotional resilience. You may do activities such as presenting to the class or surveying friends and family members. Emotional Resilience courses help you excel in personal and professional situations. By the end of this emotional awareness course you will have tools and strategies to feel stronger in the face of challenging situations. Depending on your needs, there are various study options after this course. You may consider a course in Assertiveness or Confidence Building. Please bear in mind that you’ll need to have access to the internet to take this confidence course online. Communicate with your tutor and access learning materials through Canvas, the WEA’s digital learning portal. We’re committed to helping you access and enjoy adult education. If there’s something we can do to help you, we will. Your learning is our priority. The WEA is an adult education provider and we pride ourselves on our ability to create a friendly classroom atmosphere, in person and online.