Adult Education Links

This page seeks to provide links to the websites of organisations and public bodies involved in adult education on national and international levels. The list is not exhaustive, so if you feel that your site should be included please email us: weblinks@wea.org.uk

Please note that although efforts are made to ensure the reliability of these links, the WEA cannot be held responsible for the content of external sites.

UK Government Sites

Adult Learning Inspectorate
www.ali.gov.uk
The Adult Learning Inspectorate reports to the Secretary of State for Education and the public on the quality of education and training received by adult learners (and young people) in England.

Basic Skills Agency
www.basic-skills.co.uk
The Basic Skills Agency is the national agency for basic skills in England and Wales and is supported and funded by the Government. It is committed to working with others to ensure that effective opportunities exist to help children, young people and adults strengthen their basic skills.

Becta (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency)
www.becta.org.uk
Becta is the Government's lead agency for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. It supports the UK Government and national organisations in the use and development of ICT in education to raise standards, widen access, improve skills and encourage effective management.

British Council Education Department
www.britishcouncil.org/education/adults
This link is for the adult learners section of the British Council site.

The Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning
www.learningbenefits.net
The centre was established by the Department for Education and Skills in 1999 to investigate the full range of benefits that learning brings both to the individual learner and society as a whole.

Department for Education and Skills: Adult Learners' Gateway
www.dfes.gov.uk/adultlearners/index.shtml
Whether you are looking for advice or wish to find out about government policy relating to Adult Education, this site has links that should help.

The Guidance Council
www.guidancecouncil.com
The Guidance Council is the national body for all organisations in the UK concerned with information, advice and guidance about learning and work for adults and young people. It contains an interactive map which will give you a phone number to find out about courses on offer in your area.

Learning and Skills Council
www.lsc.gov.uk
The Learning and Skills Council is responsible for funding and planning education and training for over 16-year-olds in England.

Learning and Skills Development Agency
www.lsagency.org.uk
The Learning and Skills Development Agency is a strategic national resource for the development of policy and practice in post-16 education and training. It was previously known as the Further Education Development Agency (FEDA).

Lifelong Learning Website
www.lifelonglearning.dfes.gov.uk
A web site for the encouragement, promotion and development of lifelong learning; supported by the Department for Education and Skills.

Worktrain
www.worktrain.gov.uk/
The national jobs and training site, provided by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Other UK Sites of Interest

Association of Learning Providers
www.learning-providers.net
The Association of Learning Providers is a voice of learning providers throughout the United Kingdom. It works closely with policy makers such as civil servants, Members of Parliament, and Learning and Skills Councils in order to help develop government strategy with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and other national bodies.

BBC Learning for Adults
www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone

BUBL UK - List of Further Education Colleges
www.bubl.ac.uk/uk/fe/index.html
A comprehensive list of the UK’s FE Colleges.

Campaign for Learning
www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk
A charity campaigning to create an inclusive society in which learning is valued, understood, wanted and widely available to every individual.

Campaign for Learning through Museums and Galleries
www.clmg.org.uk
A campaign established by many of the UK’s most influential museum and gallery organisations, which works to promote the unique quality and experience of museum and gallery learning.

CEDC (the Community Education Development Centre)
www.cedc.org.uk
An organisation dedicated to promoting and developing community-based learning initiatives.

Development Education Association (DEA)
www.dea.org.uk
The DEA aims to support and promote the work of all those engaged in raising awareness and understanding of global and development issues in the UK. It aims to bring global perspectives into all aspects of learning in the UK - from the school classroom to universities to local community activities to the media.

Getting Connected
www.gettingconnected.org.uk
Getting Connected is a curriculum framework which supports the re-engagement of disaffected young adults into learning and work. The curriculum is intended to enhance the self-esteem and emotional literacy of those young people outside the formal education and training system.

Higher Education and Research Opportunities (HERO)
http://www.hero.ac.uk/uk/home/index.cfm
HERO is the official gateway to universities, colleges and research organisations in the UK.

Infed (Informal Education)
www.infed.org
This site is part of the National Grid for Learning, and aims to provide a space for people to explore the theory and practice of informal education. It includes useful encyclopedia and archive sections for those interested in the history, theory and practice of informal education.

Learndirect
www.learndirect.co.uk
Learndirect aims to provide access to innovative and high quality courses, over 80 percent of them on-line; it has a database of thousands of learning opportunities. Learndirect is provided by the public-private partnership UfI.

National Literacy Trust
www.literacytrust.org.uk
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity dedicated to building a literate nation. The website has a section devoted to Adult and post-16 literacy.

National Training Awards
www.nationaltrainingawards.com

The National Training Awards
(NTA) are the UK's premier accolade for organisations and individuals that have achieved lasting excellence through training. They are provided by UK SKILLS.

NIACE (The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education)
www.niace.org.uk
A non-governmental organisation that aims to promote the study and general advancement of adult continuing education through work in all fields of UK education and training.

Support For Learning
www.support4learning.org.uk/education/adult.htm
The link is to the adult education section of this site, which gives further links to many possible courses for adults.

The Open University
www.openuniversity.co.uk/wea
Britain’s largest university, designed for students studying at their homes or workplaces in their own time.

The Open University Learning Resources Webshop
www.ouw.co.uk
This site offers study materials in various media direct from the Open University, covering a wide range of subjects.

PAULO
http://www.paulo.org.uk/
PAULO is the National Training Organisation (NTO) for community-based learning and development. PAULO covers the occupational sector that includes community-based adult learning, community education, community work, youth work and parenting education and support.

The Times Educational Supplement
www.tes.co.uk

The Times Higher Educational Supplement
www.thes.co.uk

TUC Learning Services
www.learningservices.org.uk
TUC Learning Services provides the strategic framework to support the union role in learning and skills, and gives training and support to the growing number of learning reps within Unions.

Tutors Directory
www.tutorsdirectory.co.uk
A comprehensive directory of teachers, tutors, lecturers and trainers who offer tutorial skills in any subject.

U3A - University of the Third Age
www.u3a.org.uk
The main purpose of the University of the Third Age is to encourage lifelong learning for those no longer in full time gainful employment. Learning with the U3A is for pleasure, so no qualifications are required and none are given.

UK Online Centres
www.dfes.gov.uk/ukonlinecentres
A useful site if you need to find where your nearest public internet and email access point is.

The Universities Association for Continuing Education
www.uace.org.uk

International Sites of Interest

ALADIN (the Adult Learning Documentation and Information Network)
www.unesco.org/education/aladin/index.html
Part of UNESCO, ALADIN was set up to attempt to organise an interactive knowledge management system in the adult learning domain..

Commonwealth of Learning
www.col.org
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies.

ERDI (European Research and Development Institutes of Adult Education)
www.die-frankfurt.de/erdi/index.htm
The aim of this consortium is the organisation of its members in an international network in order to facilitate their functioning, the exchange of information, the provision of services as well as the undertaking of research and development, studies or analysis concerning adult education.

European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA)
www.vsy.fi/eaea/index.html
The EAEA is a trans-national, non-profit association whose purpose is to link and represent European organisations which are directly involved in adult learning.

Euro-WEA
www.ifwea.org/euro-wea/index.html
Euro-WEA is the European regional organisation of the International Federation of Workers' Educational Associations (IFWEA). It brings together worker educators from trade unions, political parties and NGOs committed to the extension and development of participatory and democratic learning.

Gruntvig - A European Dimension in Adlt Education and Lifelong Learning
www.socrates-uk.net/grundtvig/index.htm
Gruntvig is the adult education Action of Socrates, which is the EU education programme. Gruntvig aims to strengthen the European dimension in adult education and lifelong learning by helping adult learners, teachers and trainers in both formal and non-formal education across Europe.

The International Council for Adult Education (ICAE)
www.web.net/icae
The International Council for Adult Education is a global partnership of adult learners, adult educators and their organisations. It promotes lifelong learning as a necessary component for people to contribute creatively to their communities and live in independent and democratic societies.