Weston College was one of only 32 organisations across the UK to be awarded funding to develop flexible/blended courses as part of the DfE Flexible Learning Fund (FLF) pilot which runs until 31st July 2019.

The FLF courses have been developed in partnership with a number of local employers, to ensure that they address specific skills gaps and/or identified need.

The pilot courses are:

• Leadership and Management

• ICT User Skills, Enterprise Skills

• Understanding Autism

• Customer Care in a Health and Social Care Setting

• Maintaining a Tenancy.

They range in length from 3 days up to 20 weeks and are accredited by an awarding body.

A major benefit of this type of delivery is that learners do not have to take time out of the workplace to come into college to study. Delivered through a virtual classroom, the courses include interactive sessions, webinars, videos, virtual group sessions and online assessments. A college tutor is available to help learners throughout the course, running online Q&A sessions, webinars and marking uploaded assignments.

It has long been recognised by businesses that, in order for them to continue to innovate and grow, there is a need to continually invest in upskilling, retraining and the professional development of their teams. Alongside this, encouraging entrepreneurial thinking and supporting people to develop transferable life skills helps a local economy to diversify and grow.

The courses have been designed to offer transferable skills that can be used both within the workplace and outside of work. For example, the Enterprise course has a strong focus on understanding money management and project management. These skills can be applied to the management of a project within the workplace, but also applied to a project at home such as extending a property.

Although the courses only launched in January, there has been significant take up by employers with some of the courses fully subscribed a month in advance. Businesses have recognised how these courses can help with meeting specific business needs, but also helping to meet personal objectives of staff.

To find out more, please click here. 

Jane Vivian, Project Manager of New Initiatives.

The digital age we live in puts a wealth of resources and technology at our fingertips.

At Weston College, we use these digital advantages to make learning more accessible through the ‘Flexible Learning Fund’ (FLF). Our digital learning team works closely with curriculum staff to adapt lesson content into digital formats, whilst ensuring virtual learning remains engaging and high quality.

This enables people whose circumstances might prevent them from physically attending college to access the same opportunities and make the most of some of the fantastic part-time courses that are available. This flexible approach also helps students on Access to Higher Education courses, by enabling work and research to be completed outside the academic year so it doesn’t interfere with other courses.

Compared to an average online learning course, the digital learning team goes the extra mile to connect learners with a personal tutor. These lecturers, who have a breadth of experience in their industry, provide their students with the same care and attention as those studying in a ‘traditional’ sense.

This is all done through the Virtual Learning Environment where participants receive and submit work and interact with their tutors. Hattie Abretti, Digital Learning Development Manager, said: “Although we are still in our infancy as a team, we already have a strong ethos and model to which we develop our courses.

“We want learners to engage with content, not be spoon fed. Our primary focus is providing quality access to our outstanding subject specialists and opportunities to participate in, and build, learning communities.”

The team made fantastic progress since being formed just over a year ago, with courses such as the Autism Awareness Award experiencing high levels of intake. The team currently comprises five members of staff:

September is arguably one of the most exciting times of the year as we welcome an entire new group of young people into the Weston College family.

During the first few weeks of term, we’re offering students the chance to come together and contribute towards creating a piece of artwork that will make your first week at college a memorable one…

For those who get involved, we’ll be randomly selecting one lucky winner to receive a Love 2 Shop gift voucher valued at £100!

This can be spent online and in store at numerous shops such as Alton Towers, HMV, New Look, River Island, Top Shop and many more!