WEA South West Region

The WEA delivers over 700 adult education courses each year in the South West of England. Our main office is in Exeter, though course provision takes place across the region, usually in local community venues owned by other organisations. We also have offices in Truro, Plymouth, Bristol and Swindon.

There are over thirty WEA branches in the region which are supported by volunteers. The branches organise a large programme of courses open to anyone in their local area (making up about 40% of our courses), and form the base of the WEA’s voluntary infrastructure and governance within the region.

We also have a core of paid staff who organise an extensive education programme with partner organisations (making up about 60% of our courses). These courses are often targeted at the most vulnerable in our society and include for example projects with the recovering mentally ill, the hard of hearing, recovering drug addicts and dysfunctional families. The strength of our partnership work has been highlighted in external inspections.

Our recent work on developing and expanding quality systems has been rewarded both with a successful external inspection by Ofsted and an independent review of the South West region that confirmed good standards.

Examples of partnership work

A handful of the projects which have resulted from our partnership work:

• Lip reading classes have been delivered in partnership with Cornwall Adult Social Care and an NHS hearing therapy unit. This has helped people with hearing difficulties acquire the knowledge and confidence to better manage their condition. It has also helped them maximise employment opportunities and given them more independence in their everyday lives.

• A ‘Computing for the blind’ course has introduced computer technology to blind and partially sighted learners. Thanks to a WEA partnership with Cornwall Blind Association, they were able to access information and services via the internet for the first time.

• The WEA has worked with over 400 clients of the North Somerset Education and Training consortium, who are recovering from mental illness and drug or alcohol abuse. The courses are provided through a partnership with treatment and health agencies, and help participants achieve personal development as well as improving their employability.

• A ‘Helping in schools’ project, supported by a number of local authorities and the DfES Family Learning Fund, enabled parents to support the learning of their children by volunteering in schools and understanding the school curriculum. This encouraged over 40% of the students to either go into education employment or return to learning.

• The WEA and Windmill Hill City Farm in Bristol have worked together in a rewarding partnership since 2004. The WEA runs a wide range of courses at the Farm, which reach local people with a wide range of abilities and needs. The Farm has support in place for those with mental health problems and learning difficulties, for whom the WEA courses have had a very positive impact.

Who learns?

There were over 8,350 enrolments in 2010-11 for our part-time courses across the region. Statistics for the year show the reach of our provision and the diversity of our learners in the South West:

• 30% live in postcodes which indicate deprivation (as defined by the government)
• 58% did not have to pay fees for economic reasons (as defined by funders)
• 41% had qualifications below Level 2 when they joined their courses
• 29% had a declared physical disability
• 15% had a declared learning disability
• 6% were from a declared ethnic minority

Where we work:

The table shows the number of WEA courses and enrolments across the South West in 2010/11.

Contacting WEA South West Region

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