Essential Skills courses

We offer courses run by experienced, qualified tutors which can give you:

  • qualifications which can help to improve your job prospects
  • learning opportunities to build your confidence to try other courses
  • new skills
  • greater expertise

We are currently running courses for:

  • online learning opportunities to build your confidence
  • teach you new skills and build on your expertise
  • qualifications which can help you to improve your employability skills
  • great learning delivered by experienced, qualified tutors
  • fun, safe and welcoming for everyone, graded OFSTED ‘Good’ 2022

  1. Essential Skills courses are online, so you need internet access and an email to register
  2. choose your course through this page
  3. enrol and set up your account
  4. for help to enrol, see our YouTube video
  5. receive a confirmation email with details of how to access your course on Google Classroom

Family Learning courses are free.

Essential Skills courses are delivered online.

We use Google Classroom for our live sessions, which we present on a live video call, using Google Meet​.​

Courses can be between 4 and 26 weeks. Live sessions are normally 60 or 90 minutes long, with a scheduled contact hour between sessions.

You will get much more out of your course if you are prepared to do some homework between sessions.

For online courses, you will need internet access and a Gmail address and password for Google Classroom.

If extra resources are needed, we usually provide them free to you in the live session or by home delivery. Your course information sheet will also tell you what you need to bring.

Please contact [email protected] for one-to-one support with enrolling or getting onto your course.

You can also watch our Youtube video: Help on how to enrol.

Unemployed learners will not be charged for courses leading to a qualification and for funding purposes we define a learner as unemployed if one or more of the following apply and evidence is provided on request:

  • receive Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), including those receiving National Insurance credits only
  • receive Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • receive Universal Credit (UC), and their take-home pay as recorded on their UC statement (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £345 a month (learner is sole adult in their benefit claim) or £552 a month (learner has a joint benefit claim with their partner)
  • are released on temporary licence, studying outside a prison environment, and not funded by the Ministry of Justice

Providers may also use their discretion to fully fund other learners if both of the following apply. The learner:

  • receives other state benefits (not included in the list above) and their take-home pay (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £345 a month (learner is sole adult in their benefit claim) or £552 a month (learner has a joint benefit claim with their partner), and
  • wants to be employed, or progress into more sustainable employment, and their take-home pay (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £345 a month (learner is sole adult in their benefit claim) or £552 a month (learner has a joint benefit claim with their partner), and you are satisfied identified learning is directly relevant to their employment prospects and the local labour market needs

Learners in receipt of low wage

We will fully fund learners who are employed and cannot contribute towards the cost of co-funding fees, if we are satisfied the following applies:

  • the learner is eligible for co-funding
  • the learner earns less than £18,525 annual gross salary
  • we have seen evidence of the learner’s gross annual wages that supports this - This could be a wage slip within 3 months of the learner’s learning start date, or a current employment contract which states gross monthly / annual wages

Accredited courses are priced according to the funded rate specified for the qualification in the ESFA funding rules. 

Social media

For the latest information, follow Essential Skills on Facebook or Twitter.

Partner organisations

To find out about hosting face-to-face lessons in your venue or online courses which support your clients contact us.

Email: [email protected]

Receive our regular email with information on upcoming courses.

Last updated 31 January 2023