WEA West Midlands Region

The WEA has a strong and pro-active presence right across this diverse region, with a regional base in Birmingham. Our main focus is on work in disadvantaged areas in the West Midlands’ conurbation and Stoke on Trent but we are active in many other communities as well.
 
We have over 10,000 enrolments annually on just under 900 courses held in hundreds of local community locations. The majority of our learners have few if any educational qualifications and are mainly from deprived areas within the West Midlands, reflecting the huge range and diversity of the region’s population.

The WEA West Midlands Region makes a significant contribution to public policy agendas and is an active partner with local authorities in their developing role within informal adult learning. We concentrate on ‘what we do best’ and our main areas of educational activity are as follows:

Health and wellbeing

In partnership with community organisations as well as Primary Care Trusts and local authorities we run hundreds of health improvement programmes engaging residents in deprived areas. These are often tailored around the needs of particular groups such as members of BME communities (for example our well known Tandrusti project), ‘families for fitness’, and adults with learning difficulties and disabilities as well as those with particular conditions such as MS and stroke rehabilitation. These programmes are very popular with learners and widely praised for leading to demonstrable health improvements in areas such as blood pressure, body mass index, weight and mobility as well as for overcoming isolation and enhancing mental well-being.

Working with parents in the inner city

We make a major contribution to engaging parents in schools and providing educational opportunities for them alongside school staff (including parent link and partnership workers), local authority teams and voluntary organisations. Many inner city parents have gained crucial literacy, numeracy and ESOL skills often leading them on to vocational courses as well as helping them support their children’s education and development.

Citizenship and community cohesion

The region leads on a major national WEA project designed to encourage greater involvement in decision-making. Programmes have engaged people in lobbying local councils; engaging with official bodies; proposing changes to service delivery, becoming more aware of central government activities; developing skills to support others (such as signing), and becoming actively involved as volunteers in the community. The region has also recently committed resources to building up education for sustainable development provision.

Lifelong learning for all

For many, exploring their love of learning leads to self improvement and social contact, and ‘keeps the old grey matter working’. Through the work of our volunteer led branches and through new ‘learning circles’ (again volunteer led) we provide a range of opportunities to explore both cultural and practical topics. Often partnership with local cultural and civic societies, as well as libraries, galleries and museums, is intrinsic to this work. Any older adults’ strategy will recognise the huge contribution of adult education to mental and physical wellbeing in later life.

Trade union and workplace

The WEA West Midlands region initiated the well known UNISON Learning@Work programme, which brings second chance education to low paid public employees often involving employer/trade union partnerships. Our programmes both train voluntary trade union representatives and engage employees in training and professional development activities.

Digital inclusion

WEA computing skills programmes contribute particularly to involving older adults in digital technology – helping them develop and use new skills to communicate with family and friends as well as with government departments, campaigns and volunteering activities. The WEA works alongside UK online centres and other government digital inclusion strategies.

Who learns?

• 64% had qualifications below Level 2 when they joined their courses

• 25% had a declared physical disability

• 56% live in postcodes which indicate deprivation (as defined by the government)

• 41% did not have to pay fees for economic reasons (as defined by funders)

• 8% had a declared learning disability

• 48% were from a declared ethnic minority

Where we work

Contacting West Midlands Region

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