September News

This year August is an important month for the Workers’ Educational Association as its arrival sees the formation of nine new WEA Regions across England.

The move from thirteen Districts to nine Regions creates a new organisational structure for the Association and will help the WEA to plan and deliver its courses more effectively on a local basis. The changes also mean that more resources are now directed at learners, which will mean a better service for anyone learning and studying with the WEA.

Another feature of the new arrangement is that the WEA’s Regions now reflect those of the nine Regional Government Offices in England, and the Learning and Skills Council who fund much of the Association’s work. This aspect of the restructure will allow the WEA to work closely with both government and local funding partners to ensure that the educational provision of the WEA is closely matched to the needs of local people and communities

The nine new regions are:

• North East
• North West
• Yorkshire and Humber
• East Midlands
• West Midlands
• Eastern
• London
• Southern
• South West

Each Region will be managed by a Regional Secretary working along side staff, tutors and voluntary members to ensure that part-time courses and learning opportunities exist for all kinds of local people. The WEA’s network of six hundred Branches is also affected by the changes. Some Regions can now boast more than one hundred active Branches, many managed by volunteers and all of which are running regular courses in local towns and villages.

The new regionalisation programme is confined to England, with the WEA’s Scottish Association maintaining its current boundary. The WEA’s sister organisations in Northern Ireland and Wales are also unaffected.

To view the contact information for each region visit our contacts page

To download a PDF map and contact details for the new Regions click here