Personal development groups top priority for Renfrewshire’s learning

Most adult learners in Renfrewshire are looking for personal development and wellbeing courses, as revealed by the latest Adult and Family Learning survey. 

The survey asked what learning opportunities people wanted and was conducted by Renfrewshire Council’s Adult and Family Learning team, who are part of the wider Community Learning and Development team. 

People said their top priority for learning was health and wellbeing, arts and crafts, building more confidence and being more active in the community. 

They also said they wanted to learn digital skills, such as how to be safe online, how to use social media, help looking for jobs and how to use email. 

Families also wanted literacy support so they could help their children with their homework, and people wanting support to pass their driving theory test. 

In response, the Adult and Family Learning team have expanded their range of personal development programmes to include more craft, sewing and upcycling sessions alongside their existing extensive range of wellbeing groups. The team have also set up new homework groups and a driving theory test session. 

The full list of adult and family learning programmes is available on the Council’s website (www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/article/3576/Adult-courses-learning-and-development). All venues used for adult and family learning have disability access, good transport links, and work around school and nursery times for parents and carers. 

Councillor Marie McGurk, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Communities and Housing Policy Board, said: “Learning is something everyone continues to do no matter what their age, and it is important that we know what people in our communities want so we can better support them. 

“The survey revealed that what people wanted most was health and wellbeing programmes, which we have an extensive range of. That’s good to see we have the things people need most already in place. 

“People also said they wanted arts, crafts and recycling groups as well as help to support their children’s homework, and the team have put these groups in place for anyone to access. 

“We have a full list of all programmes and groups available on the Council website, and the team will work with communities to support people with barriers to accessing learning.” 

The Winter Connections initiative, where community groups put on events and activities to reduce isolation and improve health and wellbeing, also includes workshops where people can learn and develop skills. Anyone interested can visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/winter-connections to see the full programme.