Courses to build life skills

Learn life skills with the largest charitable provider of adult education in England and Scotland. Adult learning isn’t like school. Everyone belongs at the SPÊÓƵÍøÕ¾. You’ll get meaningful, and tailored support, so you can reach your full potential. Our classes are friendly and fun, designed for adults like you. We won’t talk down to you and you’ll learn skills that you’ll use in everyday life.

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What are life skills?

Simply put, they are skills that make everyday life easier. Life skills include cooking, budgeting, communicating with others, health, well-being and managing emotions. Sometimes this means learning new things, and sometimes it means building on things you already know.

Sometimes adulting can be hard. These courses can help make it feel just that bit easier, make you feel more independent and empower you to face the future ahead.

Small steps to larger goals

You don’t have to have big goals in mind. Just take small steps towards boosting your skills and improving your wellbeing. Whether it is learning to budget better or cook healthier food. Building your confidence or gaining independence. There is a course for you.

When you study with us, you will:

  • Build your confidence
  • Learn new life skills
  • Improve your everyday life and wellbeing

Take a look at our great range of courses and start making a positive change today.

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Healthy Living: Mindfulness and well being

Enhance your well-being through mindfulness practices with our Mindfulness and Wellbeing course. Learn techniques for stress reduction, relaxation, and improved mental health. Ideal for individuals seeking to incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives.

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 04/10/2024 -
Fri 08/11/2024
Times:
10:00am - 1:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Taaziz Grada
Course code:
Q00018587
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £44.40

Multiply - Maths for Work

This Multiply Maths for Work course, is designed to help you build confidence in everyday math skills. You'll learn how to solve practical problems using basic math, like adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. We'll cover topics such as working with percentages, fractions, and measurements, all with real-life examples. The course is perfect for those who want to improve their math for work, study, or daily tasks. By the end, you'll feel more prepared to tackle math in real-world situations. This course is suitable for beginners and anyone needing a refresher.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 07/10/2024 -
Mon 18/11/2024
Times:
3:00pm - 5:30pm
Duration:
7 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Humera Mehrban
Course code:
Q00019073
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Multiply - Maths for Work

This Multiply Maths for Work course, is designed to help you build confidence in everyday math skills. You'll learn how to solve practical problems using basic math, like adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. We'll cover topics such as working with percentages, fractions, and measurements, all with real-life examples. The course is perfect for those who want to improve their math for work, study, or daily tasks. By the end, you'll feel more prepared to tackle math in real-world situations. This course is suitable for beginners and anyone needing a refresher.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 07/10/2024 -
Mon 18/11/2024
Times:
12:00pm - 3:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Marlene Clarke-Davis
Course code:
Q00019479
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

The Secret Power of Yoga: Sutra

Discover the wonderful practice of yoga with this introduction to yoga philosophy course according to Patanjali’s five foundational philosophical concepts (YAMAS) in the traditional text, THE YOGA . Whether you are seasoned yogi or just initiating an interest, you will love this course. This is a friendly course providing a nourishing blend between physical practice and theory. The aim is to help you discover how the practice of yoga can deepen your spiritual practice and bring more awareness to your life while practising having the self confidence to express yourself. It is ideal for those who want to keep physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually fit. It will offer you guidelines, like helping hands, to move you deeper into your own authenticity and into a life that is richer and fuller, simply because you are living with more skill. This course is ideal for people who like to contemplate how to live more skilfully as individuals and as a community.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 08/10/2024 -
Tue 17/12/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Ione Harris
Course code:
Q00017035
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £81.40

SPÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Membership

For just £15 a year, you can:

  • Join our popular, award-winning weekly lecture series,
  • Access an archive of over 100 past lectures,
  • Get priority online and phone booking for autumn courses (England only),
  • Receive our Highway magazine and access back issues,
  • Attend our members’ annual conference.

Just add us to your basket to sign up today!

Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
£15

Healthy Living: Body Stories

This friendly creative writing course will invite you to enter into relationship with your bodies and surroundings. The session will be held in a supportive way and will integrate some simple meditation (adaptable to all bodies), prompts for creative and reflective expression through writing, and even some environmental science! You will be guided to a holistic understanding of person and place. This course is ideal for people who like to write and to contemplate how to live more skilfully as individuals, as a community and in relationship with their surroundings. There will be time for sharing small parts of your writing towards the end of the workshop but no pressure, it’s about an unfolding individual/shared creative process and participants need to feel at ease to write freely.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 08/10/2024 -
Tue 26/11/2024
Times:
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Ione Harris
Course code:
Q00018844
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £59.20

Develop Excel and managing finances

Building on the foundational skills from the initial Multiply course, this next step online course offered by SPÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ in Essex is designed to take your Excel and financial management abilities to the next level. You’ll delve deeper into Excel functions, financial modeling, and data analysis. This course emphasises real-world applications, helping you tackle more sophisticated financial scenarios with confidence. Ideal for those seeking to further enhance their employability, this next step course provides the tools and knowledge needed to excel in finance-related roles, ensuring you are well-prepared for the demands of the modern workplace.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 10/10/2024 -
Thu 10/10/2024
Times:
10:00am - 1:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Chris George
Course code:
Q00019260
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
8 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Schools, Parenting and Child Development: Help Your Child with English and Maths

As a parent or carer, you want the best for your children and you want to help them get the most out of their time at school. Join other parents like you, to discover more about what is taught in UK schools. During this course, you will learn how to support your child’s education in the UK. You will learn what you can do at home to help improve your child’s skills in maths and English. Find out more about how you can join the school community and meet other parents. You must live in the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire postcode areas to get this course free.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 17/10/2024 -
Thu 21/11/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Catherine Wilcock
Course code:
Q00009454
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £44.40

Develop Excel and managing finances

Building on the foundational skills from the initial Multiply course, this next step online course by SPÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ in Essex is designed to advance your Excel and financial management abilities. Perfect for those ready to explore more Excel functions, you’ll gain expertise in entering data, managing spreadsheets, adding/removing columns and rows, and formatting numbers, fonts, and cells. Emphasising real-world applications, this course ensures you can confidently manage and optimise your spreadsheets. Ideal for enhancing employability, this flexible online course allows you to study from home with expert tutor support, preparing you with the essential tools and knowledge to succeed in the modern workplace.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 17/10/2024 -
Thu 17/10/2024
Times:
10:00am - 1:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Chris George
Course code:
Q00019264
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
8 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Excel and managing finances

The Multiply course, offered online by SPÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ in Essex, is perfect for beginners without a Level 2 maths qualification who want to upskill in Excel and financial management. This course provides a foundation in using Excel for budgeting, financial tracking, and data analysis—key skills for today’s job market. You’ll learn basic Excel functions, financial calculations, and practical problem-solving tailored to real-world financial scenarios. With online learning and support from an experienced tutor, this course helps you build confidence in handling finances, enhancing your employability and preparing you for work-ready roles.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 24/10/2024 -
Thu 24/10/2024
Times:
10:00am - 1:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Chris George
Course code:
Q00019266
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
8 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Fitness and Exercise: Movement This Autumn (Basic Disco Dance Steps for Everyone)

Start your week with a fun and feelgood hour of breathing, stretching and dancing. Keep fit, move and groove to some uplifting and energising music. During this five-week course you’ll learn some funky DISCO steps and complete some simple choreography. Dancing is proven to be good for your body and your mind. For improving your cognitive skills. Through learning a simple dance routine, you will: improve flexibility, minimize stress, increase energy levels and have better coordination, balance and strength. So come and release your inner disco diva and dance like no-one (or maybe everyone!) is watching.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 04/11/2024 -
Mon 02/12/2024
Times:
10:00am - 11:00am
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Helen Watson
Course code:
Q00010730
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
9 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £18.50