Training and education

Information about training and educational opportunities available, to help you with your caring role.

Adult learning

Durham County Council’s Adult Learning and Skills Service offers a wide range of adult learning courses that can lead to a recognised national qualification, develop your knowledge and skills or widen your horizons by meeting new people.

• free maths and English courses
• elearning including environmental sustainability, healthy living, health and safety, managing personal finances, food safety in catering, internet safety for IT users, understanding employment, business and enterprise

For further information about these courses, contact 03000 266 115 or visit the adult learning courses pages.

Apprenticeships

Gov.uk: apprenticeships offers information on support, funding and employment.

Durham County Carers Support

Durham County Carers Support is an independent, charitable organisation providing information, advice and support to carers. Durham County Carers Support offers a wide range of local, confidential support services to adult and parent carers.

Learndirect

From improving your maths and English skills to give you more confidence, to work based courses such as NVQs, Learndirect have a range of flexible online courses to suit all levels. Learndirect understands that it can be hard to fit in learning around family and work commitments, so their courses allow you to learn at a time and place to suit you.

Learn my way

Learn my way is provided by Online Centres Network to offer new internet users and tutors in computer centres a range of easy courses and useful resources.

Friends Against Scams

Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative, which aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering people to take a stand against scams.

If you would like to become a Friend Against Scams you can attend a short awareness session in person or complete online training which can be accessed at Friends Against Scams.

Positive Behaviour Support

Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) is an evidence-based approach which is recognised as best practice in supporting people with learning disability and behaviours that challenge. Through assessing the wider social, physical and individual contexts in which such behaviour occurs, it aims to facilitate the understanding of behaviour in order to develop support. The overall goal is to improve a person’s quality of life and the lives of people around them and minimise the chance of behaviour that challenges happening in the first place.

The North East and Cumbria PBS Steering Group worked with a number of partners across the health and care sector, and Northumbria University. The group has developed and evaluated a range of accredited learning programmes in Positive Behavioural Support for the North East and North Cumbria. For more information please visit Positive Behavioural Support North East and North Cumbria.

The Care Academy

The Care Academy work in partnership with Durham County Carers Support to provide training courses and events for unpaid carers.

This is a great way for you to gain knowledge and to meet other carers in a relaxed environment.

Courses range from practical help with caring such as Managing Medication, Infection Prevention and Control through to digital skills and areas that focus on your own wellbeing and development
You can find more information and courses available here.