The Adult Education Service at Coventry City Council is set to bring in some new changes from September.
The service will still provide hundreds of paid and free courses taught by friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful tutors in more than 20 local venues or online. However, some services will be delivered in alternative ways.
By September 2024, the service will be structured around three pillars of engagement:
- Learning for Work: This route is for adults whose primary focus is either getting work, changing their job, or gaining promotion.
- Learning to Connect: This route is for residents who are seeking new outlets and want to give back to the community.
- Learning for Life: This route is for residents seeking help with personal development or support with their family life.
Councillor Dr Kindy Sandhu, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills said: “It is so important to me that everyone has the opportunity to come together in their local community to access lifelong learning.
“The Adult Education Service is dedicated in making sure that can happen. There is a well-rounded offer that gives residents the opportunity to benefit from a variety of learning outcomes and progression routes. The new changes will transform the service for the better and ensure that we optimise resources for the benefit of our residents.”
As part of the changes to the service, there will be informal bite-sized learning on offer for users who would prefer one-off sessions, workshops, and short courses.
For essential skills needed to get into work, progress in work or support child development, there will be free courses available in English, maths, digital, and family learning. On top of this, there will be some new learning activities and courses on offer. Courses will also take place at new delivery venues, such as the Job Shop.
Adult Education is also changing the way it operates its childcare services to enable a wider range of support for more learners across the city. The service will therefore be introducing an improved Learner Support Fund. This will enable learners to apply for funding to pay for childcare for children who are looked after by a childminder, provider, or childminder agency registered with Ofsted.
The Fund will also support transport costs, course trips, books, and equipment costs, as well as devices and connectivity for some residents, thereby offering a fairer scheme for people to access funding to reduce barriers to learning.
Find out more about Adult Education.