WEA Scotland: working with you

Over 120 years of experience

We are Scotland's leading voluntary sector adult education organisation.

We strive to widen access and participation by working with many of society’s disadvantaged adults in some of Scotland’s most deprived communities. Many of our learners also bring challenging issues that require additional support to enable them to learn effectively.

We aim to raise aspirations, develop learning opportunities for the most disadvantaged, and target our provision at underrepresented groups. The profile of our learners reflects this focus: -

74% of our learners are women.
77% of our learners identify themselves as part of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BAMER) communities.
21% are non-English speaking.
23% of our learners have no qualifications at all.
40% of our learners have qualifications at SCQF level 3 or lower.

The learning programmes that the WEA offer are aligned to the outcomes and indicators of the Scottish Governments National Performance Framework and the Future Skills Action Plan for Scotland.

A partnership that transforms lives

The current portfolio of provisions reflects the needs of our client groups.

Some examples include:

Delivering learning to those with low or no qualifications to enable progression to SCQF 4
Improving core skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT
Contributing to Scotland's ESOL Strategy for migrants and refugees
Developing employability skills for the low-paid, low-skilled and unemployed
Delivering digital literacy programmes to combat digital poverty.
Delivering work-based learning to improve productivity in low-skill, lower-paid sectors
Engaging with learners who are furthest from the job market, notably carers, young people, offenders and people with disabilities.

Many of our programmes meet one or more of the Scottish government's National Performance Indicators by: Improving the skills profile of the population, reducing underemployment, improving general health and wellbeing, improving people’s perception of their neighbourhood, and improving levels of educational attainment.

Community Engagement and Learner Engagement: The WEA delivers learning by engaging with people in their own communities, rather than asking them to come to us.

WEA staff and tutors deliver learning in local community cafes, community centres, libraries, job centres and warm spaces. The WEA also run open days, and activity days and visits to community groups, spending time with local people to discuss their needs and help them overcome individual and societal barriers to education participation.

In some cases, this engagement emerges from pre-existing partnerships and community relationships while in others we will proactively target the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, as identified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Regardless of how or where we engage with individuals and communities, the aim is always to identify the help and support people need to take part in education and find the best means of enabling them to access it.

This is the essence of the WEA’s person-centred approach to learner engagement. By reaching out to people in their communities we aim to become a trusted partner, supporter and advocate for the people who ultimately benefit from our services. In some cases, the appropriate intervention might focus on skills, in others it may be about building confidence, while for others it may be helping them manage some health and wellbeing issues before they can take that vital first step towards education participation or economic activity.

This is what being adaptable, responsive and person-centred means in practice. The WEA approach creates a safe place for people to describe what they need, to a learning professional who is actively interested in helping them and is in an environment in which the client is familiar and comfortable. The combination of these three factors leads to a much more positive interaction and ultimately better outcomes.
Access Equality and Equity of Participation: At the WEA we are open to education for all and do not discriminate who uses our service. In terms of access, the WEA goes beyond equality of opportunity but focuses on equity of opportunity too. Equality of opportunity suggests that all groups should have equal access. In reality, some community groups are far more advantaged or disadvantaged than others. By focussing on both equality and equity of opportunity the WEA aims to ensure that those who are the most challenged get a disproportionate amount of help and support to access the opportunities available. We will also ensure that if the WEA cannot directly help someone, we will endeavour to refer them to an organisation or person who can.

Successful community engagement can take time and building trust with our intended beneficiaries can also be slow to earn. We hope that by proactively reaching out to local communities and meeting people in places they are used to visiting and are comfortable in will help break down some of these barriers. Furthermore, we use local tutors who live and work in our target communities and can therefore engage based on knowledge of the area its people and its challenges.

Partnerships: Where appropriate we will work in partnership with other providers and local community groups to broker introductions. In fact, the WEA delivers most of its learning programmes across Scotland through commissioned provisions by a range of organisations in the private public and third sectors. These include local authorities, colleges, trade unions, and major employers such as the NHS.
Monitoring our Effectiveness: Evaluation and Impacts: The WEA monitors and evaluates all its learning programmes in several ways. First, all local projects and programmes adopt monitoring and evaluation methodologies that are the most appropriate to the mode of education delivery and that best meets the needs of the learners. Modes of evaluation include monitoring progress against ILP and GLP learning objectives, oral and written surveys, audio or video recordings, journaling, or reflective accounts.

A second level of evaluation takes place at a national level. All education programmes align to one or more WEA national outcomes. This enables the WEA to benchmark its provision between areas of Scotland and aggregate the outcomes from local programmes to evidence its impact across Scotland.

These programme evaluation processes are supplemented by Communities of Practice where staff and tutors exchange and share knowledge to enhance the quality of the learner experience. Output and performance monitoring of all programmes takes place through regular review meetings between the Course and Project Managers Scotland and the Director for Scotland. These meetings review and assess whether the education deliverables are being met and meeting the needs of the funders/partners and whether the programme is being delivered in line with the budget. In addition to these review meetings each Course and Project Manager also provides a six-monthly update on their programme of work which forms the basis of a report to Scottish Government on the work of the WEA in Scotland. In addition to these reports in Scotland the Course and Project Managers also report on progress to the Learner Delivery Directorate. This is a UK wide Directorate that is responsible for all education programmes in Scotland and England and aims to ensure broad alignment and equivalency between both countries in relation to quality standards compliance and learner experience.

Learn more about WEA Scotland governance.

Learn more about the areas we work in and the type of courses we offer below.

Communication skills: Improving your learner's communication skills helps them to connect with others, access learning pathways, and progress in the workplace. We can help.

Find out more.
Community Interpreting: Community Interpreters facilitate access to public services by accurately interpreting between Clients and Service Providers who do not share the same language.

Find out more.
Creative literacies/creative writing: Our popular creative writing workshops and courses are facilitated by a range of writers who can create the right course for your group.

Find out more.
Digital skills: WEA Scotland offers a range of digital skills courses and can tailor our delivery to suit specific learner groups.

Find out more.

Employability: Our staff and tutors take a holistic attitude to employability, which is a strengths-based focused approach.

Find out more.
ESOL: We offer a range of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses and can tailor our delivery to suit specific learner groups.

Find out more.
Numeracy: Almost 8 out of 10 adults struggle with maths. Developing skills with numbers can help learners improve their health, help them get a better job and find a good deal. We can help.

Find out more.
Multiply: The WEA provide a range of Multiply numeracy courses across Aberdeenshire, Fife, Glasgow, and the Highlands.

Our courses make learning about numbers fun and engaging.

Find out more.