Life Skills and Wellbeing
Useful, life enhancing and enjoyable, all of our Life Skills and Wellbeing courses are a fantastic addition to any timetable. With a variety to choose from, they will take you from the College, to the workplace and beyond.
Short Courses
On Yer Bike Maintenance
This course is aimed at students who cycle to college or who are keen cyclists and wish to know more about how to maintain their bikes and develop skills that can keep them cycling.
Anyone who rides a bike knows that from time- to-time things break or stop working as well as they should. It can be expensive to take your bike to a shop to get fixed and time consuming in losing a mode of transport. You will:
- Learn how fix the main problems that occur with bikes such as fixing punctures, aligning brakes, dialling in gears and general maintenance skills.
- Apply these skills to donated bikes so that they can be put in working order and sold to raise money for the Colleges charity ECAT.
- Fix students’ bikes as part of lunch clinics where students can make a donation to ECAT for the work.
- Learning more advanced skills, if possible, such as wheel truing.
We will use a dedicated area in college, which will be fully resourced with the necessary tools and equipment. If students want their bikes fixed then consumables such as inner tubes will need to be purchased.
There is no mechanical knowledge needed for the course, as we will cover all basics.
SEND Life Skills
This course is designed especially for students with SEND who would like to build their confidence and skills to succeed in their studies and the world of work. Students learn and practise transferable skills in supportive, interactive lessons which are led by a specialist mentor.
The goal of the course is to prepare students for making a successful transition from school to college and then from college to the workplace. This covers everything from part-time jobs during term time to holiday jobs, to long-term careers. Topics include:
- Building self-confidence at college and work
- Transferable skills for work
- Verbal and non-verbal communication skills at college and in the workplace
- Workplace behaviour
- Networking skills
- Building a positive online presence
Wellbeing for Success
This course is designed for students who would like to build their confidence and resilience to succeed in their studies and the world of work. The course begins with the stress bucket challenge and discussions around what makes people feel under pressure and builds towards practising assertive behaviour and adaptive thinking. All lessons are interactive and based on discussion and are led by a specialist mentor. Topics include:
- Mental wellbeing and its impact on future success
- Dealing with change
- Building new relationships
- Using feedback to develop and improve
- Building confidence and assertiveness
- Staying positive and building resilience
- Adapting to new situations with confidence
Long Courses
Community Volunteers
This activity is particularly suitable for those thinking of entering the caring professions such as teaching, medicine or nursing. It involves going out into the community to help in local hospitals, local care homes, nurseries and schools.
Placements typically involve spending a minimum of one hour and ten minutes working assisting with various tasks. In schools you may be asked to help children with reading, sports, art, drama etc., or to help the teacher prepare materials for class use or clear up after a class.
In care homes you may be asked to talk with the old people or help to organise social activities. In a hospital you may be asked to work as a dining companion, assisting ward staff and patients during mealtimes.
Students will follow a short induction course with talks from caring professionals and will start their placements after October half-term.
Duke of Edinburgh Award (Gold)
We have successfully run the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Esher College for the past 12 years. At College, we only offer the Gold Award but it is important to realise that you do not have to have completed the Bronze or Silver to start the Gold Award.
The Award consists of 3 main sections Volunteering, Skill and Physical and students have to do an hour a week in each section over a period of time ranging from 6 to 18 months. Note: they do not all have to be done at the same time so the Award allows up to the age of 24 for completion.
You will be allocated to a group and from that group a sub group that will form the team with which you complete the expedition. Previous expeditions include walking across the Brecon Beacons then Paddling on the River Wey.
Leaders for Life
Do you want to improve your career prospects, boost your confidence, learn new and valuable skills? We offer you this unique and exciting experience, designed for all, whatever your previous experience.
We believe leadership training should be available to everyone and so the only cost is your commitment to participate with enthusiasm. You will:
- learn about yourself and leadership, understanding what type of leader you could be,
- learn and demonstrate the skills and techniques of effective leadership,
- reflect on and understand your own experience and support others as you learn,
- find out how Emotional Intelligence is key to effective leadership in a Covid world.
Your course leaders draw from an incredible range of leadership experience including executive coaching, voluntary sector, professional sport, public sector, military, manufacturing and education.
Scuba Diving
This course gives you a fantastic opportunity to obtain an internationally recognised diver certification whilst having fun alongside the rest of your studies. If you’ve ever been snorkelling and been frustrated that so much marine life was out of reach or maybe you have been enthralled by ‘Blue Planet’, then this is an opportunity not to be missed.
You will complete the PADI Open Water Course which will give you the knowledge and skills needed to keep you safe as you experience your first breaths underwater and is designed for people who have never previously dived. It could be the first step to a lifestyle change, preparation for a marine biology degree or even a career as a dive professional although most students do it just for fun especially if they go travelling.
The course comprises of:
- The theory behind all aspects of scuba diving including safety.
- Confined Water Training to develop skills in a safe swimming pool environment.
- Open Water Dives to review and assess skills in a real environment before certification.
Theory is taught through weekly lessons in college as part of your timetable. Six Pool sessions are on Friday evenings at Putney Leisure Centre.
The Open Water Dive assessment, where you will complete 4 dives over 2 days is at Wraysbury Diving Centre near Staines. This will take place after your 1st year progression exams.
All practical training is provided by Aquanaut dive school in Kingston http://www.aquanautscuba.co.uk/
All students who apply for this must complete a medical self-assessment questionnaire when enrolling and must be able to commit to all planned sessions. You don’t have to be a fantastic swimmer as long as you are confident in the water and not claustrophobic. If you need more information before committing then please email nglennard@esher.ac.uk.
Costs: £389 includes all tuition, kit hire, crew pack (containing course learning materials) and certification. The normal cost for this course is £515! Extra Costs – Entrance to Wraysbury Dive Centre (£15 per day) and air fills (approx. £8 – £16) paid directly to WDC on the day.
The course has always proved extremely popular. Success rate is more than 90% for all students that commit to the course, but please do not this select this course unless you have discussed the costs with your parent/guardian and can commit to the Friday evening sessions otherwise you are likely to disappoint other students. The course is often oversubscribed.
