Free adult online courses

A lean organisation provides the greatest customer value with the fewest resources, a philosophy increasingly important in today’s competitive business market. A sound understanding of the concept and benefits of a lean environment, as well as knowledge of business techniques and working in teams, is essential. Our nationally recognised qualification is designed to provide individuals with an appreciation and understanding of some key principles of lean organisation management.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Lean Organisation Techniques in Business
• Unit 2 - Business Improvement Tools and Techniques
• Unit 3 - Working in Business Teams

Conor – “I work in a production and manufacturing environment which already has a lean program, so now I can involve myself more with this program. Support was amazing!”

Harrison – “I enjoyed all aspects of the course, my assessor was a great help and was on hand at all times. Highly recommend and a big thank you to him”. 

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Strong team leadership is essential for providing guidance, direction and instruction within a group and inevitably leads to more effective teamwork and more motivated employees. Being able to manage a team effectively is critical in the current job market, where employee productivity and team outcomes are closely monitored.

What you will learn:

• Understand Customers
• Understand How to Deliver Customer Service and Resolve Problems
• Understand How to Develop Working Relationships with Colleagues
• Introducing to Coaching
• Introduction to Mentoring
• Principles of Team Leading 
• Understand Business 
• Understand how to Communicate Work-Related Information 

Chris – “Completing the qualification units has really benefited me in many ways. It has allowed me to expand on basic knowledge I already had, and also given me a wide supply of facts figures and practices that I can use moving forward. I know feel competent and confident of my knowledge on how to lead a team. It has already help me with my everyday interactions with my team and on how to prioritise and better organise my schedule”. 

Paige - “As I am a team leader I will take into account different ways of how people learn, how to mentor and how to coach different approaches. The assessor was amazing all the way throughout”.

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Today’s global economy brings with it a wealth of new markets, shrinking profit margins and increasing operating expenses; the need for good business administration has never been greater.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Principles of Providing Administrative Services
• Unit 2 - Principles of Business Document Production and Information Management
• Unit 3 - Understand Communication in a Business Environment
• Unit 4 - Understand Employer Organisations
• Unit 5 - Understand How to Develop Working Relationships with Colleagues

Amiela – “I enjoyed the overall layout of the questions and the clear and easy to use workbook. The system is easy to use and I enjoyed learning the different aspects of good customer service. This qualification will help me provide good communication skills within the business environment and to strengthen a good team work between staff and colleagues”.

Milana – “I enjoyed the overall layout of the questions and the clear and easy to use workbook. The system is easy to use and I enjoyed learning the different aspects of good customer service. I believe this qualification will make my CV stand out more when I apply for admin section jobs. The support was always available and the feedback was efficient and positive, I felt that I could always turn to the assessor for any additional help”.

Magda – “It has been a pleasure to do this course. I enjoyed learning about providing administrative support for meetings, delivering customer service and conflict management the most, but loved what I learned in every single unit. Feedback was positive and very encouraging which is something I really appreciate. Very professional and warm at the same time”.

Data protection compliance is an essential legal requirement for all organisations. Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in May 2018, it is more vital than ever that everyone who works with personal data understands the laws and acts in compliance, as the penalties can be severe.

What you will learn:

• Current data protection legislation, and how it is applied
• Organisational procedures concerning data
• Possible threats to ICT systems and data, and how to protect against them
• Consequences of not protecting data, and the impact of possible breaches

John – “I am an Office Manager and deal with peoples personal details be it electronically or in hard copy all the time.  This course has given me an overview of what is required of me and a much better understanding of the regulations, it was a brilliant insight into the subject”.

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What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Principles of Customer Service and Delivery
• Unit 2 - Understand Customers
• Unit 3 - Understand Employer Organisations

Click here for more info or scroll down to apply.

The retail industry is subject to a number of pressures. These include changes in shopping habits and the recent economic downturn which reduced consumer spending. However, as consumer confidence begins to grow, it is important that retail support staff are fully trained and equipped to represent your business and to meet the needs of your customers. As removing staff from the ‘shop floor’ applies pressure to rotas, this training can be carried out in the learner’s own time via our tried and tested flexible learning approach.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Understanding Customer Service in the Retail Sector
• Unit 2 - Understanding the Retail Selling Process
• Unit 3 - Understanding How Individuals and Teams Contribute to the Effectiveness of a Retail Business
• Unit 4 - Understanding How a Retail Business Maintains Health and Safety on its Premises
• Unit 5 - Understanding Retail Consumer Law
• Unit 6 - Understand How to Deal with Customer Queries and Complaints in a Retail Environment

Justin - “Absolutely will help. I would like to change my career path, so this course was a good start. James was really helpful through the course when I needed help. And what actually surprised me he did respond to my queries so quick”.

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The warehousing and storage of goods is an essential part of logistics operations within a business. Roles within this industry require great skill and organisation to coordinate the demand and supply of goods and ultimately meet customer needs.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Introduction to Warehousing and Storage
• Unit 2 - Understand how to Receive and Store Goods
• Unit 3 - Understand how to Process Orders and Prepare them for Dispatch
• Unit 4 - Understand how to Check Stock and Update Records
• Unit 5 - Customer Service in Warehousing and Storage

Janos - “This qualification helps me to understand warehouse system and warehouse types. My favourite part was the customer services and warehouse control system. My assessor was a very helpful and friendly person”.

Reuben – “This course is going to assist me at my current employment, understanding the fundamentals behind the operations of our warehouse. I enjoyed exploring different parts and reasons behind specific warehousing principles”. 
 

Mental health problems affect around 1 in 10 children and young people. These issues include depression, anxiety and conduct disorder and can often be a direct response to occurrences in their lives. Emotional wellbeing is just as important as a child’s mental health, therefore it is important for those working with children and young people to have a good understanding of the concepts, risk factors and impact of mental health.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Understand Children and Young People's Mental Health in Context
• Unit 2 - Understand Factors which may Affect Children and Young People’s Mental Health
• Unit 3 - Understand Children and Young People's Mental Health Concerns
• Unit 4 - Understand the Impact of Children and Young People's Mental Health Concerns
• Unit 5 - Understand how to Support Children and Young People with Mental Health Concerns

Yasmin - “I really enjoy the fact that it was all accessible and very easy to do. I did not really find anything challenging and the time frame was easy to stick to.

Mental health presents one of the greatest challenges to our society. With an estimated 450 million people worldwide suffering from a mental health problem, around a quarter of British adults will experience some form of mental health problem within the course of a year. While many elements of mental health are still not understood, having a good knowledge of the information that is available is essential in the care sector.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Understanding Mental Health
• Unit 2 - Understanding Stress
• Unit 3 - Understanding Anxiety
• Unit 4 - Understanding Phobias
• Unit 5 - Understanding Depression
• Unit 6 - Understanding Post-Natal Depression
• Unit 7 - Understanding Bipolar Disorder
• Unit 8 - Understanding Schizophrenia
• Unit 9 - Understanding Dementia
• Unit 10 - Understanding Eating Disorders
• Unit 11 - Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Unit 12 - Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Unit 13 - Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Stella - “For each completed assignment, Doina was either advising that I needed more information and where to find it or congratulating me on passing. The course will help me with future job applications, particularly if it concerns mental health”.

Around 450 million people worldwide suffer from a mental health problem. Education and raising awareness of the impact can help tackle this challenge by increasing knowledge and understanding and reducing stigma. This qualification is designed to increase learners’ knowledge and understanding of mental health and mental well-being. Successful completion of the required units will allow the learner to develop in-depth knowledge and understanding of mental health. It will also support progression into relevant employment within the health and social care sector.

In this curriculum offer learners will develop essential knowledge of the context of mental health and wellbeing, promotion of mental health and wellbeing, mental health problems: associated issues and consequences, understanding mental ill health and working in mental health.

What you will learn at Level 3:

• Unit 01: Understanding the context of mental health and wellbeing
• Unit 02: Promotion of mental health and wellbeing
• Unit 03: Mental health problems: associated issues and consequences
• Unit 04: Understanding mental ill health
• Unit 05: Working in mental health 

* The course itself is free if you haven't already achieved a level 3 qualification. 

The annual Crime Survey estimates that almost 2.5 Million adults experience domestic abuse each year. In addition, one in five children witness or experience domestic abuse in their childhood. Although it is often an under reported crime, with most cases of domestic abuse kept hidden. The new Domestic Abuse Act 2021 makes prosecuting domestic abuse more straightforward, and offers more protection to those who are being abused, but cases still need to be identified and responses need to be effective.

This qualification is for anyone who has a responsibility to respond to domestic abuse or support those experiencing domestic abuse. This includes employers, teachers, health and social care workers and anyone involved in safeguarding vulnerable adults, children or young people.

What you will learn:

• Understand domestic abuse
• Understand the signs and risk factors associated with domestic abuse
• Understand the impact of domestic abuse
• Understand policy, response, and intervention in relation to domestic abuse

Emma – “I enjoyed learning about the different types of domestic abuse, the legislation, the support available and organisations that can help”.

Adverse circumstances can have a negative impact on anyone's life, but children and young people are particularly vulnerable. They might face difficult circumstances such as the death or divorce of parents, domestic violence, or national and international disasters. These types of adverse childhood experiences can have an impact on their development and mental health, which may continue into adulthood and affect their life chances. This fully online adverse childhood experiences course will give you the skills needed to support children and young people affected by adverse experiences. You will gain insight into how to strengthen their resilience and empower them to overcome the challenges they face. 

What will you learn: 

• Exploring childhood and family structures 
• Introduction to adverse childhood experiences 
• Developing strategies to improve outcomes for children affected by adverse childhood experiences  

Many people find it helpful to seek counselling at some point in their lives, and a counsellor can provide support for people in all sorts of situations. This qualification aims to introduce learners to the use of counselling skills in everyday life and work, and some of the approaches that underpin the use of these skills. This course gives learners the opportunity to investigate the knowledge and skills needed to use counselling skills and engage in a helping interaction appropriately. You will also be taught about counselling theory and the ethical framework that informs how counsellors use their skills. 

This qualification does not qualify learners to practise as a counsellor. 

What you will learn: 

• Describe how core counselling skills can be used in a counselling relationship and in other helping activities. 
• Describe how counselling theory underpins the use of counselling skills. 
• Describe how the ethical framework informs own use of counselling skills. 
• Describe how to develop skills and qualities in the future. 
   

While "neuroscience" may sound complex, this exciting field provides profound insights that anyone working with young children should understand.  This course offers an accessible introduction to neuroscience discoveries, showing that around 90% of brain development happens by the age of three, demonstrating the critical impact early relationships and experiences have. In easy-to-grasp language, this course covers recent scientific discoveries about how infants' brains form neural connections in response to experiences.

Learners will gain knowledge on key topics such as stages of brain development, factors that shape brain architecture, and supporting emotional and behavioural regulation capacity. The goal is to equip those who care for young children with an understanding of early brain development and the remarkable impact we can have when we provide nurturing, responsive relationships and environments.

What you will learn:

• Understanding neuroscience in early years.
• Understanding self-regulation and how to nurture this in children from birth to seven years.

Challenging behaviour is causing increasing concern today as many individuals have increasing levels of stress and uncertainty in their lives. This behaviour can be due to factors such as anxiety, neglect, abuse, learning disabilities and conditions like dementia. Understanding the causes of challenging behaviour is the first step towards finding ways to support individuals and manage their behaviour.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Understand Behaviour That Challenges
• Unit 2 - Understand How to Support Positive Behaviour
• Unit 3 - Understand the Importance of Effective Communication and the Management of Behaviour That Challenges
• Unit 4 - Understand the Role of Reflection and Support for Those Involved in Incidents of Behaviour that Challenges

Natalie – “It will help me in my work as a TA as I feel I have more knowledge know so more able to deal with behaviour that challenges. I am really pleased to have done this course and found it useful and think it will be useful in my role now and in the future”.

Having a learning difficulty means that people find it harder to learn certain skills. As this affects around 15% of people, it is important for those working in healthcare, social care and education to have knowledge of different Specific Learning Difficulties such as ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Understand Specific Learning Difficulties
• Unit 2 - Understand the Effects of Specific Learning Difficulties
• Unit 3 - Understand the Diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties
• Unit 4 - Understanding Supporting Individuals with Specific Learning Difficulties
• Unit 5 - Understand the Context of Specific Learning Difficulties

Autism is a spectrum condition that affects how a person communicates with others and how they interpret the world around them. There are around 700,000 people in the UK with autism – more than 1 in every 100. Having a clear understanding of the misconceptions, diagnoses and support surrounding autism are just some of the essential skills needed when working in mental health.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Introduction to Autism
• Unit 2 - Using a Person-Centred Approach to Support Individuals with Autism
• Unit 3 - Communication and Social Interaction in Individuals with Autism
• Unit 4 - Sensory Processing, Perception and Cognition in Individuals with Autism
• Unit 5 - Supporting Positive Behaviour in Individuals with Autism
• Unit 6 - Supporting Individuals with Autism to Live Healthy and Fulfilled Lives

Monika - “It gave me insight to autism and all the aspects of it, my assessor was very supportive, understanding and complimentary”.

Lisa – “Learning about new signs and symptoms of autism along with their coping strategies”.

With an estimated 700,000 people in the UK who are diagnosed with autism and a further understanding of neurodiversity in society learners will be able to apply their knowledge to various employment and education destinations. This qualification is designed for learners who want to increase their knowledge and understanding of autism. Successful completion of this qualification will allow learners to develop in-depth knowledge and understanding of autism, which would support progression onto appropriate qualifications and into employment within the health and social care sector.

What you will learn at Level 3:

• Unit 01: Autism in context
• Unit 02: Positive behavioural support for individuals with autism
• Unit 03: Understand support and management of transitions for individuals with autism
• Unit 04: Therapeutic interventions and support available for individuals with autism and co-occuring conditions
• Unit 05: Communication and social interaction with individuals with autism
• Unit 06: Safeguarding and resilience in autism

* The course itself is free if you haven't already achieved a level 3 qualification. 

Official data showed that over 7,500 people were referred to the Prevent programme in 2015/16. The purpose of this qualification is to support anyone who is responsible for the safeguarding of people and for helping prevent radicalisation. It gives learners an understanding of recognising the signs of abuse, how to reduce the risk of radicalisation and the potential consequences of illegal online activity.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Understanding the Prevent Duty
• Unit 2 - Understanding Safeguarding
• Unit 3 - Understanding Online Safety

• Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) history and culture

• Language, stereotyping and assumptions relating to LGBT people

• Organisational policies and legislation affecting LGBT people in the workplace

• Contribute to maintaining a supportive workplace environment for LGBT people

Vanessa – “I enjoyed learning about the history of the LGBT movement.  I was unaware of the significance of Stonewall.  It is certainly a course that is well worth doing as it is very informative and relevant to absolutely everyone in society”.

What you will learn:

• Unit 1 - Dementia Awareness
• Unit 2 - The Person-Centred Approach to the Care and Support of Individuals with Dementia
• Unit 3 - Understand the Factors That Can Influence Communication and Interaction with Individuals who have Dementia
• Unit 4 - Understand Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Dementia Care
• Unit 5 - Understand the Administration of Medication to Individuals with Dementia Using a Person-Centred Approach
• Unit 6 - Understand Behaviour in the Context of Dementia
• Unit 7 - Understand the Benefits of Engaging in Activities in Social Care

Julie - “As Dementia is part of many of our lives these days, it was good to get an insight into the disease and how it is treated, I was confident that I could get support from Doina if I needed it”.