Upskill Your New Year: Free Community Courses Available Now
An exciting range of short community courses starts in Dearne Valley throughout January.
The five to ten-week long courses, delivered by Dearne Valley College, will be hosted at several learning centres across the region. They will be held over just a few hours once a week, are completely free of charge and span a wide variety of subjects including Indian Cooking, Jewellery Making, Cake Decorating, Beginners’ Flower Arranging and much more.
Two new subjects have also been added to the offering this month, including a Family History course, where students will explore family names and record-keeping, and a Beginners’ Photography course, which covers key aspects including light, technique, and exposure. Both start on 9th January.
Dearne Valley College Development Worker Ella Wall arranges the courses.
Ella said: “For many who attend the Community Courses, it’s about more than simply learning a new skill. It’s about building confidence, helping with isolation, meeting new people and community integration and improving mental health.”
For many students, a community course is the start of something much bigger.
Ella added: “A lot of people who do the Card Making or Sugar Craft course start making cakes for friends and family, and then go on to set up their own business. We find once a student has built up some confidence, they’ll go on to another course or an intermediate course.”
Former student Gill Lishman completed a Level 1 and 2 Arts and Crafts course as part of her rehabilitation following major surgery for bone cancer, which caused the loss of use in one arm, anxiety and depression.
Gill said: “I loved it and met lovely people. I wanted to pass the positive effect on my mental health and being involved in a group on to others, so I later enrolled for a PGCE at Northern College.
“I graduated in May this year and I am now teaching within the community. I believe it’s not only advancing craft techniques, but alleviating social isolation and mental health issues, and bringing communities together.”
View the full list of courses available.
For further information, or to book a place on a course, call the Community Office on 01709 722792 or visit our Facebook page and send a message detailing which course you would like to attend.