Wakefield Adult Education Service

Welcome to Learning events start the first week of September!

Still need to book your enrollment slot? Get in touch today to secure your place:

Call: 01924 303302

Email: [email protected]

We are hiring!!!

⭐️ New Autism for Parents Course ⭐️

Want to better understand autism? Join our Autism for Parents course and discover practical tips, shared experiences and feel empowered.

Booking on the course is essential.

Enrol today - Call 01924 303302 or email [email protected]

Are you neurodivergent or exploring neurodiversity? Join our 6-week Neurodiversity and Me course starting this September.

Gain valuable payroll and business skills with our Sage Level 1 Computerised Payroll for Business course.

Find out more about this course at our Welcome to Learning events, taking place on 1st and 3rd September.

Call 01924 303302 or email [email protected]
today to book your preferred time slot.

⭐️ SAGE LEVEL 2 COMPUTERISED PAYROLL FOR BUSINESS ⭐️

New course starting in September.
Call 01924 303302 or email [email protected]
to book your slot on the Welcome to Learning event.

⭐️ FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE ⭐️

The following courses are free for anyone over 19 in the Wakefield district to do:

• Essential IT Skills
• Get Started with Microsoft Office
• AI Essentials (How to use Al)
• ITQ User Skills in Microsoft Office
• Smart Phones/Tablets 4 Beginners
• Functional English
• Functional Maths

Our Welcome to Learning events are on 1st and 3rd September at our Manygates Centre. Call 01924 303302 or email [email protected] to find out more information and book your slot to enrol.

We also have these courses running at St Mary's Community Centre in Pontefract. The Welcome to Learning event is on 2nd September. To find out more about the courses running there and to enrol, call 01977 705341.

Booking is essential for the Welcome to Learning events.

Think you can't afford to do a course? Think again! 📚✨

Many of our courses are completely FREE.

✅ Our Functional Skills Maths and English courses are free for all
✅ All our Digital Skills courses are free for all
✅ If you're working with a sole income below £26,800, you may be eligible for free courses
✅ If you're receiving certain means-tested benefits, you may also qualify for free courses

Don't let cost hold you back from gaining new skills, qualifications, and confidence.

Don't delay, enrol today and invest in your future! 🎓🌟

⭐Verity, one of our learners shares her story about her journey to learning with Wakefield Adult Education and being chosen as the runner up for our 'Made in Manygates' Competition ⭐

"I moved to Wakefield after finishing my degree, thinking I would be able to return to work or education after a year or so to recover but my health had other plans and I ended up mostly house/bed bound for a few years. I enjoyed learning a few different crafts over that time and it gave me something positive to focus on.

At the start of this year I felt like I was ready to do something a few hours a week as a first step towards working or volunteering and I knew I wanted it to be in person for the social aspect. I’d gotten a few leaflets for Manygates in the post over the years and knew that there were creative courses available so it seemed like a good fit for what I was looking for.

A friend had recently lent me their old sewing machine but I couldn’t quite get the hang of it by myself, so I didn’t have any experience going in to my sewing course. I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up, and I did struggle the first few weeks, but I found a routine that worked for me and it was nice to have something to look forward to every week. Everyone has been really friendly and supportive and I went from not knowing how to thread a machine properly to making myself some clothes I can actually wear, which is pretty cool. I still make plenty of mistakes but I’m looking forward to going back and learning new things.

The competition - I was stuck inside most of May as the lift to my flat was broken, so I decided to channel some of my frustration about not being able to get outside into something more productive. My needle felting had taken a back seat while I focused on sewing so it was a good reason to get back to it. I normally make 3D animal sculptures, but recently I've been having fun exploring blending colours and ‘painting’ scenes using wool, especially skies. I've always seen my wheelchair as a symbol of freedom, and it felt fitting as the competition was in July- which is disability pride month- to both celebrate my chair- something important to me, and hopefully give people a different perspective on disability.

Runner up - I don’t tend to share most of the things I make and having seen the rest of the entries, I definitely wasn’t expecting the runner-up position, as they were all so good. So I was pleasantly surprised. It was nice to be able to hopefully encourage more people to try needle felting as it's not as popular as other fibre arts even though it's the best in my opinion and I always appreciate any opportunity to bring awareness about accessibility to people who might not have had reason to consider it before as it's really important, not just to me but most people will be affected by disability at some point in their lives."

⭐ Saturday's Success Story - Michael did a creative course with us. Below are his words on his journey from doing the course to winning our 'Made in Manygates' creative competition. ⭐

"I chose to study at Manygates after discovering the course on social media. The work being produced by learners really stood out to me, and it looked like a welcoming and inspiring place to develop my creativity. It felt like the perfect opportunity to challenge myself and learn new skills.

My course has been an amazing journey. The encouragement and guidance from the tutors gave me the confidence to experiment, take creative risks, and push my work further than I thought possible. I also enjoyed learning alongside such a talented and supportive group of people.

My competition entry was inspired by my own personal journey. I wanted to create something honest that reflected how I see the world and how creativity has helped shape my life. My work is all about expressing emotion, encouraging conversation, and showing that art doesn't have to follow traditional rules.

Winning the Made in Manygates competition was a huge surprise and an incredible honour. I genuinely didn't expect it, so hearing my name announced was a very emotional moment. It was a wonderful recognition of all the hard work I've put into my art over the years and has given me even more motivation to keep creating and inspiring others."

Michael - Learner at Wakefield Adult Education Service