Community Outreach - Buckinghamshire Adult Learning

Community Outreach

Buckinghamshire Adult Learning > Community Outreach

Community Outreach

We offer many different courses including  gentle exercise, confidence building, stress management,  beginners IT and craft for groups of older people, as well as employability skills – job searching and interview skills.

We work in partnership with a wide range of organisations including Jobcentre Plus, supported housing organisations, food banks, mental health services, charities, and local community groups for older people to develop bespoke courses to help people improve their lives through learning.

Who are we?

We are a small friendly team working with communities in Buckinghamshire to help people learn new skills through short courses – especially people who may not have been in learning for a long time.

We support learners who have health needs or have low qualifications and offer classes in small groups with friendly tutors.

For information about Community Outreach courses please email cldevteam@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Community Outreach Team

lady wearing red lanyard in brown and black top
Debbie Garwood, Community Outreach Officer
Four women using ipads

Our aim?

Our aim is to help raise your confidence and feel less isolated so that you feel able to progress onto further learning or employment. Our learners often say that our courses help them be more confident, meet new people, become a volunteer, get a qualification or even get a job.

Who are our courses for?

Our courses can be tailor-made to meet your needs. There are usually only 8 – 12 people in a class and they can be:

  • run at a venue near you (subject to health and safety requirements)
  • in a variety of subjects such as returning to work skills, sewing, craft, confidence building, IT skills, gardening, and keep fit (please see examples of some of our courses)

FREE to learners who are over 19 years old and usually:

  • suffer from low confidence
  • are unemployed
  • have health issues e.g. poor mental health
  • have few or no qualifications
  • have housing issues
  • recovering from addiction or retired on a low income
  • usually 2 – 3 hours a week for 1 – 5 weeks
  • arranged at a time to suit the group

Courses can run when we have at least eight learners who are committed to attending each week.

Examples of our courses

Our courses vary in length and adapted to suit your needs. Therefore, not a single course is exactly the same; listed below are the forthcoming courses we are offering.

Forthcoming courses

Building Confidence for Men - Workshop

This course will give you tips and techniques to build your confidence and self esteem.

Date: 22 November 2019, 10am – 4pm

Venue: Millbrook Adult Learning Centre, Mill End Road, High Wycombe HP12 4BA

Course code: N5CL14AFM

To enrol, please contact James Keen on james.keen@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Get Connected - Get Selected

This short course will help you gain confidence in using email and job searching online, including using social media.

Start Dates
Tuesday 7 January 2020, 9.30am – 12pm
Course Duration: 6 weeks
Venue: Millbrook Adult Learning Centre, Mill End Road, High Wycombe HP12 4BA
Course code: N5CL14AFM
To enrol, please contact James Keen on james.keen@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Wednesday 15 January 2020, 10am – 12pm
Course Duration: 7 weeks
Venue: Quarrendon Adult Learning Centre, Holman Street, Aylesbury, HP19 9LJ
Course code: Q3CL11FFM
To enrol, please contact Debbie Garwood on debbie.garwood@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Tuesday 25 February 2020, 9.30am – 12pm
Course Duration: 6 weeks
Venue: Millbrook Adult Learning Centre, Mill End Road, High Wycombe HP12 4BA
Course code: N2CL28FFM
To enrol, please contact James Keen on james.keen@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Tuesday 21 April 2020, 9.30am – 12pm
Course Duration: 5 weeks
Venue: Millbrook Adult Learning Centre, Mill End Road, High Wycombe HP12 4BA
Course code: N2CL29FFM
To enrol, please contact James Keen on james.keen@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Wednesday 29 April 2020, 10am – 12pm
Course Duration: 7 weeks
Venue: Quarrendon Adult Learning Centre, Holman Street, Aylesbury, HP19 9LJ
Course code: Q3CL12FFM
To enrol, please contact Debbie Garwood on debbie.garwood@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Tuesday 2 June 2020, 9.30am – 12pm
Course Duration: 7 weeks
Venue: Millbrook Adult Learning Centre, Mill End Road, High Wycombe HP12 4BA
Course code: N2CL30FFM
To enrol, please contact James Keen on james.keen@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Suited, Booted and Recruited

On this five week course you will learn how to:

  • Recognise an effective CV and cover letter
  • Identify your transferable skills
  • Prepare for interview questions
  • Practise your interview skills

Start Dates

Thursday 9 January 2020, 9.15am – 11.15am
Course code: N4CL16FFM

Thursday 5 March 2020, 9.15am – 11.15am
Course code: N4CL18FFM

Thursday 4 June 2020, 9.15am – 11.15am
Course code: N4CL22FFM

Duration: 5 weeks

Venue: Millbrook Adult Learning Centre, Mill End Road, High Wycombe HP12 4BA

To enrol, please contact James Keen on james.keen@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Positive Pathways

Have you been out of work for a while? Are you struggling to move forward in life and work? Feeling isolated and anxious?
This short course is based around the Five Ways to Wellbeing:

  • Connect
  • Be Active
  • Give
  • Keep Learning
  • Take Notice

It aims to help you develop your skills in a small supportive group to help you move closer to volunteering or work.

Start dates

Thursday 9 January 2020, 11:45am – 1:45pm
Course code: N4CL14FFM
Course duration: 7 weeks

Thursday 5 March 2020, 11:45am – 1:45pm
Course code: N4CL17FFM
Course duration: 8 weeks

Thursday 14 May 2020, 11:45am – 1:45pm
Course code: N4CL19FFM
Course duration: 8 weeks

Venue: Millbrook Adult Learning Centre, Mill End Road, High Wycombe HP12 4BA

To enrol, please contact James Keen on james.keen@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Building Confidence through Effective Communication

This course will give you tips and techniques to build your confidence and self esteem.

Start Dates:

Tuesday 14 January 2020, 10am – 12pm
Course code: Q2CL23AFM
Tuesday 21 April 2020, 10am – 12pm
Course code: Q2CL25AFM

Course duration: 5 weeks

Venue: Quarrendon Adult Learning Centre, Holman Street, Aylesbury, HP19 9LJ

To enrol, please contact Debbie Garwood on debbie.garwood@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Managing Stress with Mindfulness Techniques

This five week course will help you learn to:

  • Understand your feelings and manage your emotions
  • Cope with different situations in a positive way and learn some useful strategies to cope with day-to-day stress

Start Dates:

Tuesday 25 February 2020, 10am – 12pm
Course code: Q2CL24AFM
Tuesday 9 June 2020, 10am – 12pm
Course code: Q2CL26AFM

Course duration: 5 weeks

Venue: Quarrendon Adult Learning Centre, Holman Street, Aylesbury, HP19 9LJ

To enrol, please contact Debbie Garwood on debbie.garwood@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Examples of courses we run

Returning to Earning

A short workshop for parents who are thinking of returning to work after a career break looking after children. Topics include transferable skills, childcare options and barrier to work.

Getting on Track

A six hour course helping people move on in life so that they feel more confident, less isolated and more employable.

Stress Management

Practical, hands on course to identify what causes stress and to learn different techniques and life skills to deal with stress.

Confidence building

Tips and techniques to build self esteem

Rest and Relaxation

A gentle class of breathing, stretching and limbering to help with relaxation

Silver Surfers

Beginners IT course to help people keep in contact and use the internet effectively and safely.

What our learners say about us:

“The whole set up at Bucks Adult Learning is superb. The relaxed atmosphere and the helpfulness of the staff and all the course tutors/assistants all helps towards an excellent learning environment.” Adrian

“I am confident with you and my tutor because you make me feel comfortable. I’m still nervous with people I don’t know or who don’t put me at ease, but I’m still trying” Greg

“I don’t like being with people I don’t know, but I know you and I trust you, so it makes things ok” Hannah

“It came just at the right time for me. Although I was afraid that everyone else would know more than me and that I would fail, I am chuffed to bits that I came along. I went the first informal session at Chesham Library where I met our tutor, Linda, and the other people interested in learning, and found that I wasn’t alone. Now I am a lot more confident and relaxed about learning, I have an email address and am very pleased that I will now be able to keep up with my daughter who is starting secondary school in September. I knew that I was missing out before, for instance, I wasn’t able to apply online for help with my energy bills, but now I can access the information I need on the internet.” Louise

“I had been out of work for about 10 years when I went along to a Jobs and Skills event. While I was there I met an Outreach Worker from Buckinghamshire Adult Learning who told me about their “What’s My Next Move?” course that runs regularly at Aylesbury Jobcentreplus. Buckinghamshire Adult Learning arranged for a British Sign Language Interpreter to attend each session of the course to help me to access the learning effectively.” Anon

“I gained a lot of confidence from attending the course and in particular from the support of my tutor and other learners who learnt some sign language, and I am very pleased to be able to say that during the course I was invited to an interview and was offered a job in a warehouse at Arla dairy in Aston Clinton.” Rasiklal