The WEA’s USP is that we engage with and deliver learning by engaging with people in the communities in which they live and socialise. In short, we go to the learners, we do not ask them to come to us.
WEA staff and tutors will typically work with learners and deliver learning in local community cafes, community centres, libraries, job centres and warm spaces. In effect, any appropriate venue where residents congregate. The WEA will also run open days, activity days and visit established community groups spending time with local people to discuss their needs and help them overcome individual and societal barriers to education participation.
In some cases, this engagement with communities will be achieved via pre-existing partnerships and community relationships while in others we will proactively target SIMD areas where there is evidential need to. Regardless of how or where we engage with individuals and communities, the aim will be the same: to identify the help and support people need to take part in education and find the best means of enabling them to access it.
This is the essence of the WEA’s person centred approach to learner engagement. By reaching out to people in their communities we aim to become a trusted partner supporter and advocate for the people who will ultimately benefit from this service. In some cases, the appropriate intervention might focus on skills, in others it may be about building confidence while for others it may be helping them manage some health and wellbeing issues before they can take that vital first step towards education participation or economic activity.
This is what being adaptable responsive and person-centred means in practice. The person will drive the intervention they need rather than the WEA providing a ready-made solution. This WEA approach creates a safe place for people to describe what they need, to a person who is actively interested in helping them and is in an environment in which the client is familiar and comfortable. The combination of these three factors leads to a much more positive interaction and ultimately better outcomes.