GoLearn! Learner Newsletter – May 2024

Have a Go Month 2024!

Join us this June to help celebrate lifelong learning with our 2024 ‘Have a Go Month’.

We are offering over 50 free adult learning tasters and events in venues across Leicestershire. The tasters are an opportunity for you to try your hand at a new skill, explore our venues, and talk to the team about upcoming courses for 2024/25 academic year.

Have a Go tasters are FREE for anyone aged 19 and over and are taught by specialist tutors from across the GoLearn! programme. To book your place on one of our Have a Go tasters this June, visit us online at www.GoLearnLeicestershire.ac.uk/events.

GoLive 2024/25!

We are delighted to confirm that courses for the 2024/25 GoLearn! Programme will ‘GoLive’ for enrolment at 8:30am on Monday 1^st July 2024.

You can enrol online at www.GoLearnLeicestershire.ac.uk, over the phone on FREEphone 0800 988 0308, or in-person at one of our GoLearn! Adult Learning Centres or Suites. A 30% Early Bird Discount on course fees will be available from Monday 1^st July, till 7pm on Monday 30^th September 2024.

The 2024/25 GoLearn! Brochure is scheduled for digital release in mid-June, with print versions available in Libraries and Adult Learning Centres from Early July. If you have any questions about what courses will be available from September 2024, please feel free to contact us on FREEphone 0800 988 0308 or email us at adult.learning@leics.gov.uk.

‘To work or not to work, that is the question!’ Meet Geoff Hardcastle.

Geoff, one of our outstanding ESOL Tutors, recently sat down to write a post for Leicestershire County Council’s ‘Leicestershire Chatters’ blog, about his experiences as a Tutor and the people he has met along the way.

Visit Leicestershire Chatters online to read about Geoff’s experiences.

 

Not sure what your next steps are in learning or work?

As we look towards the end of the academic year, many of our learners will be preparing for exams, and looking ahead to the future, but sometimes we all need a little help to understand our options. At GoLearn! we offer a FREE Information, Advice and Guidance service, run by our dedicated Learning and Work Advisors, who can help you make sense of the opportunities available to you and understand the pathway to get there.

In the last year our Learning and Work Advisors have supported over 150 individuals to explore their career and learning goals and understand their next steps. With in-built employability support and guidance, the service prides itself on offering tailored guidance that meets your needs and circumstances.  To find out more about our Learning and Work Advisors, and book a free and confidential 1:1 appointment, visit us online.

Exam Season Begins!

The Summer term bring with it the annual exam season for learners across the service. For many, these exams are the culmination of a long year of hard work and dedication, and we want to wish the best of luck to all those taking exams with us this year. If you are not taking an exam this year, there are ways that you can support your fellow learners:

1. When in venues this term, please be mindful of signage that asks for quiet in corridors.
2. On rare occasions your usual lesson may be in a different room from usual. This is to accommodate learners with special examination needs that may require a separate room.
3. Please listen to all requests from our local Business Support teams.

 

What does Family Learning offer?

Hazel from our Family Learning team recently sat down with Family Hubs Leicestershire to explain what we can offer to families.

Family Learning courses are designed to help you support your child’s education journey, by learning how your child is taught in school while you also develop your own knowledge. Classes are taught at libraries, Children’s Family and Wellbeing Centres, schools, online and in the community. Click here to watch Hazel’s interview or visit us online to see what courses we have available today.

Leicestershire Libraries – Reading Well for Dementia Booklist

Reading Well for dementia will launch during Dementia Action Week 2024 (13-19 May). The list recommends helpful reading for people living with dementia. There are also books on the list for family members, friends and carers. The books provide reliable information, advice and support as well as personal stories. The list has been developed as an update to the 2015 Books on Prescription Dementia list.

• The complete booklist

The collection of books has been chosen and endorsed by leading health professionals and co-produced alongside people affected by dementia.

The booklist is targeted at people living with dementia, carers and family members including younger children to help them understand more about dementia. Some of the recommended books provide information and advice; there are also personal stories and children’s fiction. The list also includes a wide range of formats including eBooks and audiobooks. Alongside the books are a selection of digital resources to support people affected by dementia.

‘Finding Out About Your Local Area’ group in Loughborough.

Finding Out About Your Local Area group have been very busy this academic year! Working in partnership with Charnwood Museum, Creative Learning Services and Culture Leicestershire we have helped make Charnwood Museum more accessible to visitors. The aim of our project was to create a social story for the museum’s website, removing barriers to enable the public to visit the museum with a clear idea of what to expect when they arrive.

In their first session we were asked what we would need to know about the museum before visiting. We visited the museum and linked what we would like to know about the exhibitions before we arrived. This included information about parking, cost of entry and any sensory flags which may be helpful to be aware of. Once these areas had been highlighted, we put them into action!

Next came the photography day where we took it in turns to be both in front and behind the camera. We captured photographs of important areas and learnt how to use a professional camera. These images were then put together to form a social story that visitors to the website can click through to see what they can expect when they visit.

Our final session focused on the film. It can be quite intimidating being filmed; however, we rose to the challenge and were able to show what a friendly and welcoming environment Charnwood Museum is. Finding Out About Your Local Area is a fantastic class to join as it allows learners to not only understand more about where they live but to actively participate in making it a better, more inclusive place making it a better community for all.

You can see the amazing work by visiting Charnwood Museum online.

Courses still available for Summer 2024!

Below is a list of courses with spaces still available this Summer. You can enrol online by clicking the links below or call us on FREEphone 0800 988 0308.

Remember! A 70% Reduced Fee is available for learners on certain benefits or on a low income. In some circumstances your course may even be FREE! We can also support you with the cost of learning by reimbursing travel, childcare, exam, and resource fees to eligible learners. Visit our Financial Support page online for more information or call us on the number above to talk to a member of the team about your circumstances.

• Introduction to Email and Internet Skills – 2-week course starting at Hinckley Library and The Moira Adult Learning Centre in Loughborough on 19^th June 2024. Click here to enrol!
• Photoshop Elements Editing Techniques – 5-week course starting at The Roundhill Adult Learning Centre in Thurmaston on 3^rd June 2024. Click here to enrol!
• ESOL Summer School Courses – 3-week English courses for speakers of other languages, offered at a variety of levels, in Adult Learning Centres across Leicestershire throughout July. Click here to enrol!
• Family Learning: Starting School – A FREE 3-week course for parents and carers of children due to start school in September, running from Loughborough and Coalville Libraries starting in early June. Click here to enrol!
• Family Learning: Storytime Fun – A FREE 4-week course starting on 5^th June at Wigston Magna Library. Click here to enrol!
• Family Learning: Social and Emotional Wellbeing – This FREE 5-week course for parents and carers of children and young people is running at Melton Library, Wigston Magna Library and Online from 3^rd and 5^th or June 2024. Click here to enrol!
• Languages Holiday Basics – A wide variety of single-session courses to help you learn a little of the language you need for your summer getaway! Languages on offer include French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Click here to enrol!
• Ballet Barre Fitness – Summer – A 5-week short-course based at The Enderby Adult Learning Centre starting 24^th July 2024. Click here to enrol!
• Indian Cookery – A 6-week course at The Enderby Adult Learning Centre starting 5^th June 2024, taught by an expert in Indian Cookery. Click here to enrol!
• Introduction to Sewing – A 6-week sewing course based at Loughborough Library and starting on 5^th June 2024. Click here to enrol!
• Introduction to Hand Embroidery – A 5-week evening course based at Coalville Library and starting on 6^th June 2024. Click here to enrol!
• Wellbeing Saturdays – A range of 1-day Saturday courses which allow you to dive into a creative skill from across our Learning for Wellbeing programme.

Art and Diversity: Keith Haring – Click here to enrol!

Drawing and Painting Mixed Level – Click here to enrol!

Drawing Animals Using Shapes – Click here to enrol!

Start to Sew with your Sewing Machine – Click here to enrol!

The Golden Age of Hollywood (Film Appreciation) – Click here to enrol!

• 5 Ways to Wellbeing – A FREE single-session Mental Health Workshop available at Melton Library on 10^th June 2023. Click here to enrol!
• Introduction to Mindfulness – A FREE single-session Mental Health Workshop available at Wigston Magna Library on 3^rd June 2023. Click here to enrol!
• Multiply Courses – A range of FREE courses delivered by the Multiply Project and designed to support adults aged 19+ to develop their everyday numeracy skills. Visit the Multiply team online for more information on courses.

Cook, Meet, Eat at the Mountfield’s Family Hub

Healthy Me at Thringstone Members Club

Keeping Household Costs to a Minimum at Coalville Library

Maths Skill Building at The Symington Building in Market Harborough

Puzzles, Games and Fun at Coalville Library

Safe Internet use at Coalville Library

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