WEA Eastern Region

Across the East of England, through the Eastern Region office, we provide a wide variety of quality assured part-time courses for individual learners. We also manage customised educational projects on behalf of national, regional and local partners and funders. We have specific expertise in initial teacher training for tutors in the adult and community sector.

Many of our courses enable adults with few, or no, previous educational qualifications to gain nationally recognised qualifications with friendly support and encouragement.

We have an ethos of social purpose and encourage adults to improve their capacity to take part in community activity and become effective volunteers and activists in communities, charities or trade unions.

We also run part-time courses for adults with a love of learning who want to develop an understanding of a subject ‘for its own sake’ and wish to be involved in the planning and delivery of the provision. We offer community-based opportunities for serious educational study, with a focus that is more academic than leisure.

How we work

Volunteers work alongside paid staff to run courses in every local authority in the region. We can respond flexibly by providing courses in local community venues, often ones used by organisations we work in partnership with. Teams of WEA staff and branch volunteers work within their local communities to develop and support courses and activities. Staff, management and voluntary governance links ensure coherence at local, sub-regional, regional and national levels and beyond.

In partnership

Our distinctive provision and our work in many community partnerships have a proven track record of supporting several national and local government priorities across various functions and Departments.

Our part-time courses and projects complement what is offered by schools, colleges, universities and private training providers. We work with a number of Extended School consortia on a range of initiatives including a successful Helping in Schools programme involving adults in activities that improve children’s attainment whilst also preparing them for voluntary or paid work as Teaching Assistants.

Other productive partnerships offer learners wide curriculum options including health, personal development, ICT, practical art, and return to learn.

Who learns?

There were 13,950 enrolments in 2010-11 for our 876 part-time courses across the region.  Statistics for the year show the reach of our provision and the diversity of our learners in Eastern Region:

• 26% had qualifications below Level 2 when they joined their courses
• 23% had a declared physical disability
• 12% live in postcodes which indicate deprivation (as defined by the government)
• 17% did not have to pay fees for economic reasons (as defined by funders)
• 6% had a declared learning disability
• 5% were from a declared ethnic minority

Our largest curriculum areas were: humanities; practical art and art history; health, fitness and personal development; foundation studies; schools and parenting, and ICT.

Where we work

Our courses take place in community venues across the region. We find that taking education to local venues such as schools, community centres, workplaces, church halls, mosques and village halls helps people who are returning to learning feel comfortable and relaxed. It’s an important part of attracting the ‘hard-to-reach’ learners who would often be reluctant to attend the nearest college or other formal education provider. We are committed to supporting our tutors and our learners to cross the digital divide. The table below shows the number of WEA courses and enrolments across Eastern Region in 2010-11. 

Contacting WEA Eastern Region

Our WEA office for Eastern Region is based in Cambridge.  You can view contact details here, visit the regional website here or see a listing of local WEA branches here. To find out about courses in these areas visit our online course search.