Adult Education Courses – April

Wokingham Borough Connect

From courses to help with work skills to courses to improve your maths confidence, there is a wide range of courses on offer this term!

Courses starting in April are listed below – details about all courses and eligibility criteria can be found on our enrolment website. 

Excel for Beginners

  • 15 April to 20 May, Mondays – either 10.15am to 12.15pm or 1pm to 3pm, Wokingham Library
  • £30 – free to those on jobseeking benefits or low incomes
  • Apply here for the morning course or here for the afternoon course

Learn to use and create simple spreadsheets. Gain confidence in entering and sorting data and discover how you can use Excel for basic data and budgets.

Building your Confidence to get into Work or Volunteering

  • 17 April to 8 May, Wednesdays 10.30am to 12pm, online via Zoom
  • Free course
  • Apply here

Getting into work or volunteering after a break for any reason, or for the first time in a new country, can be daunting. Looking at job searching techniques, importance of CVs, application forms and interview preparation. This course will help you to identify all the strengths and qualities you have that employers want and look at ways to expand your experience through volunteering or further learning.   

Introduction to being a Teaching Assistant and working in Schools

  • 18 April to 23 May, Thursdays 12.30pm to 2.30pm, Maiden Place, Earley
  • £40 – free to those on jobseeking benefits or low incomes
  • Apply here

Find out more about different roles available in schools and gain an understanding of how to apply for roles. Explore your own strengths and weaknesses in your transferable skills and build your confidence to apply for roles in schools.

Help with your Maths 

  • 23 April, Tuesday 7pm to 8pm, online via Zoom
  • Free course
  • Apply here

Refresh the basic maths skills which are used in everyday life and work including fractions, percentages, ratios, probability, and lots more. The course will help you assess your current skill level and identify areas in which you can improve your maths skills further. 

After an initial tutor led interactive session, you’ll have access to an online course which you can work through at your own pace and focus on areas you’d like to improve. The follow up session will be on 9 May, 7pm to 8pm, online via Zoom.

Business Maths Essentials 

  • 23 April to 14 May, Tuesdays 6.30pm to 8.30pm, online via Zoom
  • Free course
  • Apply here

This course will support learners to understand the financial terms used in businesses e.g., profit, costs, turnover and revenue. You will explore the different maths calculations used to determine financial information and look at key topics such as applying a discount or mark up on goods, different types of interest, fixed and variable costs and how this is captured in a business plan, as well as stock management within a business setting. This is suitable for anyone who may be starting up a new business, wishes to feel more confident with numbers used within business or those wishing to practice these skills for their day-to-day job, or to upskill to apply for a new job or voluntary role.

Maths for ESOL

  • 24 April, Wednesday 10am to 11am, online via Zoom
  • Free course
  • Apply here

Build your confidence in the English used for maths terms can help with improving your overall English and can help with work or life in the UK.

After an initial tutor led interactive session, you’ll have access to an online course which you can work through at your own pace and focus on areas you’d like to improve. The follow up session will be on 8 May, 10am to 11am, online via Zoom. 

Introduction to working in the NHS and Care

  • 24 April to 22 May, Wednesdays 12.15pm to 2.45pm, Emmanuel Church, Woodley
  • £40 – free to those on jobseeking benefits or low incomes
  • Apply here

Interested in working in the NHS or in the care sector? This course will look at different roles available and explore ways of gaining transferable skills or experience to start working in these sectors.

Excel at Budgeting

Have you thought about using Excel for your own personal budgeting purposes? Learn how to manage what you spend against your income or budget using basic formatting and maths functions in Excel. This is aimed at people with a basic knowledge of using Excel.

Help your child with Maths

  • 25 April, Thursday 7.30pm to 8.30pm, online via Zoom
  • Free course
  • Apply here

Refresh your own maths skills while gaining confidence in how to support your children with their own maths learning. Starting with an initial tutor led session, you’ll then have access to an online learning platform which covers school years 3 to 7 – you can choose which content is appropriate for yourself. The follow up session will be 9 May, Thursday, 7:30pm to 8:30pm, online via Zoom.

Maths for the Workplace

  • 29 April, Monday 7.00pm to 8.00pm, online via Zoom
  • Free course
  • Apply here

Refresh your basic work maths skills with our new online courses. Various available covering maths skills for specific industries including construction, health and social care, hair and beauty, business and administration, sport, and hospitality and catering.

After an initial tutor led interactive session, you’ll have access to an online course which you can work through at your own pace and focus on areas you’d like to improve. The follow up session will be on 13 May, Monday, 7pm to 8pm, online via Zoom.

Eligibility and Costs 

To be eligible for Adult Education courses, you need to:

Live or work within the Wokingham Borough, or have a child attending a Wokingham school,

  • AND be over 19 years old (as of 31st August 2023)
  • AND be a UK or Irish citizen or a non-UK national with permission to live in the UK and have ordinarily been resident in the UK for at least 3 years

All Ukrainian adults and their family members supported through the Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme are immediately eligible for courses and are exempt from the 3-year residency requirement.

Learners with a BN(O) visa are eligible to apply for Community Learning courses immediately.

There are a number of other exemptions including those for some asylum seekers or refugees. Please email us or call 0118 974 3797 if you wish to discuss any exemptions further.

Some courses are free and those courses that have a cost are free for anyone who is in receipt of Universal Credit (work related), Employment Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance, or are on low income (under £20,000). Please contact uswith any queries around costs.