Online Carers Skills Workshops
What are the benefits?
As a carer, there are many benefits to joining the workshops
- Improved health and wellbeing
- Fewer injuries relating to their caring role
- Increased knowledge
- Confidence boost
- Access to education and work opportunities
- A sense of achievement
We understand that it can sometimes be difficult for carers to attend workshops. You might find that studying online is easier to fit in around caring than a classroom based course.
We have a variety of online courses that are aimed at supporting/enhancing your role as a carer. Our workshop team are always pleased to hear from you if you have a specific request for workshops that would help you with your caring duties.
Real time online courses
We offer a wide range of virtual courses where you can meet up with other unpaid carers to discuss a variety of subjects, to help support you in your caring role. These online courses will take place on Zoom and are open to any carer 18+, who cares for an adult to attend.
To book your place on any of the courses below please email your name and date of birth with the course title and date you’d like to attend to: workshops@devoncarers.org.uk
NB: No place is booked until you have received an email from the training team confirming this.
If you need any assistance to help you to access Zoom we may be able to offer you IT Support, but this must be booked well in advance of the course. Please contact our Helpline to request this assistance 03456 434 435, email info@devoncarers.org.uk or click on the ‘Ask’ button in the right hand corner and chat online with our Helpline.
Please read our helpful tips and guidelines on using Zoom before attending any of our online sessions here.
| Course | Course info | Day, date & time |
|---|---|---|
| Assertiveness | Would you like to become more assertive in how you communicate with people?
This workshop will give you practical skills and tools to help you become more assertive. In this Zoom session we will:
|
Day/Date:
Wednesday 12th June Time from/to: 10.30am to 12.30pm |
| First aid Q&A | Learning basic first aid is essential for every day caring roles to give you the confidence to act in a practical and safe way, should a medical emergency arise.
This live, real-time Zoom session we will:
|
Day/Date:
Tuesday 4th June Time from/to: 10am to 11.30am Online Zoom Session |
| How to cope as a carer | Would you like to learn some hints, tips and strategies on how to cope as a carer?
In this live, real-time Zoom session we will: Part 1
Part 2
|
Day/Date:
Monday 10th June (Part 1) Time from/to: 10am to 11.30am Day/Date: Monday 17th June (Part 2) Time from/to: 10am to 11.30am |
| Looking after you; looking after your relationship | Are you getting your relationship 5-a-day?
This two-part workshop will explore the changing nature of carers’ relationships; with the cared for, family and friends. In this Zoom session we will:
This workshop will be informative and fun, with no requirement to share personal stories, in a safe and supportive environment. |
Part 1
Day/Date: Tuesday 30th April Time from/to: 10.30am to 12.30pm
Part 2 Day/Date: Tuesday 14th May Time from/to: 10.30am to 12.30pm
|
| Looking at our feelings as carers | Life is punctuated with a series of changes, as carers we have to cope with many issues. Some changes will be welcome, but others will need some adjusting to, and may lead to feelings associated with grief and grieving. As a carer, we may also experience these with the health and wellbeing of our cared-for. In this live, real time Zoom session we will look at:
|
Day/Date:
Tuesday 30th July Time from/to: 2pm to 4pm |
| Managing challenging behaviour for carers dealing with mood disorders | For many carers dealing with the mental and emotional changes in their cared for can be the most challenging aspect of their caring.
In this live, real-time Zoom session we will give you the opportunity:
|
Day/Date:
Thursday 23rd May from/to: 10am to 12pm Online Zoom Session |
| Managing stress | Caring can be rewarding but also stressful at the same time. We will look at stress, its causes, symptoms and a variety of ways of limiting its effect. We will use a variety of techniques to find methods that work for you.
In this live, real-time Zoom session we will:
|
Online Zoom Session
Day/Date: Wednesday 31st July from/to: 10.30am to 12.30pm
|
| Unpaid carers and the menopause | Caring for others can be stressful but with the added mental and physical pressures of the menopause, it can make coping even more challenging.
In this live, real-time Zoom or face-to-face session we will:
|
Day/Date:
Thursday 4th April Time from/to: 10.30am to 12.30pm Online Zoom Session |
| Sleep workshop | Do you have trouble sleeping? This workshop will enable you to look at improving the quality of your sleep patterns and to chat through related issues with other carers.
In this Zoom session we will:
|
Online Zoom Session
Day/Date: Wednesday 3rd July Time from/to: 10.30am to 12.30pm
|
| Thoughts, feelings and challenges | Have you ever given yourself the time to sit and think about your thoughts and feelings on being a carer?
In this live, real-time Zoom session we will:
|
Online Zoom Session
Day/Date: Monday 22nd July Time from/to: 10.30am to 12.30pm |
| Course | Course info | Day, date & time |
|---|---|---|
| Dementia and effective communication | Caring for people with dementia can be difficult as we see them struggle with everyday tasks. But to communicate with the person you care for more effectively, we need to improve our own interpersonal skills. In this live, real-time Zoom session we will:
|
Day/date: Friday 3rd May Time from/to: 10.30am to 12pm Online Zoom Session |
| Dementia and the environment | People living with dementia can be affected by environmental factors.
In this Zoom session we will:
|
Day/Date:
Monday 13th May Time from/to: 10am to 11.30am |
| Dementia and food | If you care for someone with dementia food and eating can sometimes be an ‘issue’.
In this live, real time Zoom session we will:
|
Day/Date:
Monday 22nd April Time from/to: 10am to 11.30am |
| Dementia – when the bathroom becomes a battlefield | If you care for someone with dementia, personal care can become a challenge.
In this live, online Zoom session we will:
|
Online Zoom Session
Day/Date: Friday 22nd March Time from/to: 10.30am to 12pm
|
Free online courses
Have a look at the these free online courses for carers provided by other organisations.
The Open University
Produced by The Open University, a world leader in open and distance learning, all OpenLearn courses are free to access. They offer nearly 1000 FREE courses across 8 different subject areas.
The courses are available to start right away and can be completed at any time.
Understanding Autism
Across the 8 weeks of Understanding Autism, you will engage with key topics including how autism affects children, adults and families, how the condition was first identified and how ideas and understanding have evolved in the decades since. You will consider current ideas about what causes autism, the challenges faced by autistic individuals and their families, and what forms of help and support are available. You will learn that no two cases of autism are completely alike, giving rise to the concept of an autism spectrum.
Read More
Future Learn
All Future Learn courses are free to use once – there is the option to pay for extra benefits such as access to this course for as long as it’s on Future Learn and a print and digital Certificate of Achievement on completion.
Understanding Autism
First identified over 70 years ago, autism is a lifelong developmental disability affecting how a person communicates with and relates to others, and how they make sense of the world. It is a spectrum condition; all people on the spectrum share certain difficulties, but their condition affects them in different ways.
Read More
Free Courses in England
is a directory of the courses that are available to anyone to undertake FREE of charge in order to help people succeed in whatever role they are in.
Understanding Autism
This course is suitable for anyone who wishes to develop their understanding of autism and the principles of supporting individuals to live healthy and fulfilled lives. The course will benefit anyone working, or looking to work, with individuals who have an autistic spectrum condition.
Read More
Carers UK have brought together helpful information to help support you in your caring role in their Digital Resources section on their website. These resources and online courses, will help support your own physical, emotional health and wellbeing alongside managing your caring responsibilities. It also includes information about supporting the health and wellbeing of the person you look after.To access these courses go to https://carersdigital.org and create an account, when prompted use the free access code provided by Devon County Council: DGTL8827
E-learning courses include
About me: building resilience for caring
A joint course designed in conjunction with Nutricia which aims to help carers understand the role of nutrition both for themselves as well as the person they are looking after.
The role of good nutrition when caring for someone
This course aims to help you identify resources, technologies and sources of support in order to prevent your caring responsibilities from becoming overwhelming. Interactive learning materials describe the symptoms of – and suggest strategies for coping with – stress, including tips for staying healthy and managing time effectively.
Young adult carers e-learning
This course offers information and advice for young carers aged 18-24 years. The course aims to help young carers identify support available, identify ways of working alongside caring, explain continuing education and training options, explain how to get financial support and support on staying healthy.
| Course | Course info | Day, date & time |
|---|---|---|
Spotlight on the brain and dementia |
This session is an introduction to the main types of dementia, the initial symptoms and how these affect the brain.The course is for you if you would like to…
|
Day/Date:
TBC Time from/to: TBC |
Spotlight on understanding why dementia is different for everybody |
An introduction to the multiple factors which affect a person’s experience of dementia or the role of being a carer which includes neurology, physical health, biography, personality, and the social environment in which we live.
The course is for you if you would like to …
|
Day/Date:
TBC Time from/to: TBC |
Dementia Adventure
Offering free Dementia Skills Sessions that are designed to help you think differently about dementia and give you practical guidance to help you in your supportive role.
You can safely connect with qualified dementia trainers and other dementia carers, learn more about dementia and receive practical tips.
Courses are via Zoom and are FREE to attend but booking is essential. Details of how to book are on website.
Future Learn
All Future Learn courses are free to use once – there is the option to pay for extra benefits such as access to this course for as long as it’s on Future Learn and a print and digital Certificate of Achievement on completion.
Current courses available at Future Learn:
The Many Faces of Dementia
Gain a unique insight into dementia through the stories, symptoms and science behind four less common diagnoses. This course covers four less common diagnoses of dementia the symptoms and science behind familial Alzheimer’s disease, behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and posterior cortical atrophy.
Dementia Care: Staying Connected and Living Well
An award-winning course, to help carers stay connected to loved ones, manage stress at home, and defuse difficult situations.
Foundations in Dementia
Discover better ways to support people with dementia. Explore signs and symptoms, interventions, support networks and more.
Dementia and the Arts
Explore, challenge and shape your perceptions of dementia through science and the creative arts.
End of Life Care for People Living with Dementia
Understand the needs of people with dementia, and how to better support them and enhance their wellbeing towards the end of life.
Dementia Care: Living Well as Dementia Progresses
Better understand effective dementia care and how dementia progresses and prepare for the future with this award-winning course.
Open University
is a directory of the courses that are available to anyone to undertake FREE of charge in order to help people succeed in whatever role they are in.
Produced by The Open University, a world leader in open and distance learning, all OpenLearn courses are free to access. They offer nearly 1000 FREE courses across 8 different subject areas.
The courses are available to start right away and be completed at any time.
What are the connections between music and memory?
Interactive quiz with film and information about what music means to us personally and how it can be used to trigger memories, emotions and communication between people with dementia and their families and carers.
Designing Space for Dementia Care
Family homes were not designed for people with dementia, so some adaptation is needed. Although featuring care homes, this course gives advice and some ideas that can be transferred to family homes. Carers may find it useful to read the advice, watch the first film (Elmhurst) and do the last activity of adapting a bedroom and bathroom.
5 reasons why exercising outdoors is great for people who have dementia
Explores why exercise, particularly outdoors is good for cognitive functioning, physical and emotional health and better sleep. A good piece to inspire carers to keep encouraging people with dementia to go outdoors.
MOOC – Massive Open Online Courses
MOOC stands for Massive Open online course. It is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the internet.
There are a number of places that provide MOOCs and there are countless topics you can learn about.
University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania have provided some Dementia focused MOOCs for people to learn. The courses are free and have unlimited spaces, but you do need to book your place. You do not need any prior level of knowledge, and we hope to provide useful information to people at a range of educational levels.
The courses vary throughout the year but the link will take you to what is currently available and you will be able to see what is upcoming.
Understanding Dementia
Participants in the free Understanding Dementia MOOC will gain an increased knowledge of dementia, including its causes, symptoms and ways of responding to the needs of people living with the condition. Course lasts 7 weeks, available from from 7th July 2020.
Preventing Dementia
Participants in the free Preventing Dementia MOOC will learn about the risk factors for dementia from leading world experts. With the ageing of the world’s population, dementia is becoming the public health issue of the 21st century. Examine the evidence and reduce your risk. Course lasts 4 weeks, available from 4th October 2020.
SCIE – Social Care Institute for Excellence
Social Care Institute for Excellence provide information, guidance, resources and accredited training for anyone supporting people with dementia. It is a resource used by professionals in care homes and social care providers for staff and can provide information to help carers at home.
The course is free but you will need to register to download resources and access the e-learning.
Dementia Awareness
An e-Learning course which seeks to improve the wellbeing and experience of people with dementia and of the care staff working with them. It should improve your confidence in managing situations you find challenging.
The Northern Devon Healthcare Trust
The Northern Devon Healthcare Trust have developed a series of short videos on Vimeo to be used as training to support carers of people living with dementia. They are free and readily available to access any time.
Communicating with People with Dementia
Top tips on learning how to communicate with people living with Dementia.
Dementia and Carers: Caring for the Carer
Provides ideas for carers living with people with Dementia.
Being Ready for Unusual Behaviour
Introduction to Dementia: Being ready for unusual behaviour – advice and information to highlight the importance of awareness of unusual behaviours. Useful for carers of those who are living with a new diagnosis.
Caring and Dementia: Creating the right environment
Tips on how to create a supportive and accessible environment for people living with Dementia. Useful for carers of those who are living with a new diagnosis.
Using finger foods to prevent malnutrition for people with dementia
An overview of how Dementia can affect the way people approach food. Explores the benefits for the person living with Dementia eating finger foods.
How does Dementia affect eating?
A brief explanation of how Dementia can affect eating habits, and provides useful advice on how to encourage eating with someone with Dementia.
Caring and Dementia: Caring for the Individual
Explanation of how someone may experience Dementia. Gives tips on how to care well with someone with Dementia.
Communicating with people with Dementia – Using body language and physical contact
Gives insight to how there are different ways of communicating with people with Dementia. Makes people aware of non-verbal communication (such as tone of voice and body language) is just as important as the words used to communicate.
Future Learning
All Future Learn courses are free to use once – there is the option to pay for extra benefits such as access to this course for as long as it’s on Future Learn and a print and digital Certificate of Achievement on completion.
End of Life Care: Challenges and Innovation
Explore dying and palliative care practice around the world and evaluate new trends and ideas surrounding end of life care issues.
Good Brain, Bad Brain: Parkinson’s Disease
Learn the fundamentals of Parkinson’s disease with this online course. What causes it and what we can do to treat it?
Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research
On this free online course, find out how medical treatments are discovered, tested and evaluated to improve healthcare for all.
Improving Palliative Care in Care Homes for Older People
Examine how care homes are organised in Europe and how palliative care in care homes can be improved for older people.
Nutrition and Wellbeing
Whether you work in nutrition or on a personal level, understanding healthy eating is hugely important. However, the information we receive around nutrition can often be complex and confusing.
With this online nutrition course, you’ll discover the scientific basis of a healthy diet, and explore current nutritional concepts and controversies. You’ll explore the concept of health and wellbeing, why we eat what we eat and the ‘drivers’ that influence our food choices.
Understanding Heart and Circulatory Diseases
Every three minutes, someone in the UK dies from heart and circulatory disease. Let’s beat heartbreak forever.
MS Society
Online fatigue management course
This online course is designed to help people with MS to find ways to manage their MS fatigue, however it can also be used to explain it to other people.
Open University
Produced by The Open University, a world leader in open and distance learning, all OpenLearn courses are free to access. They offer nearly 1000 FREE courses across 8 different subject areas.
The courses are available to start right away and can be completed at any time.
Ageing and Disability: Transitions into Residential Care
The activities in the course focus on the lives of three people living in a nursing and residential home for elderly and disabled people. Although many of the practice examples relate to work with older people, the values and principles surrounding this work also apply to other service users who make transitions to and from care, for example, children being accommodated or people with learning disabilities.
St John Ambulance
St John Ambulance have created a YouTube channel with a range of online video to be used as training for families at home. You can view the videos as often as you need to and access is free.
It give details on what to do if: someone has a stroke, someone has a seizure, and if someone is having a diabetic emergency. Also covered is how to perform CPR, how to treat a severe allergic reaction, how to treat poisoning, how to treat a fracture and others.
The Mindful Life offer free tasters of their online Mindfulness For Carers sessions throughout the year.
The three week, 1 1/4 hour course has been designed to help you to:
– Make time for yourself
– Feel less run down and fatigued
– Work toward improving your sleep pattern and habits
– Improve your emotional well being and learn coping strategies
– Feel less isolated and more supported
– Strengthen your resilience and work toward maintaining a hopeful outlook
For more information visit: https://www.themindfullife.co.uk/ or info@themindfullife.co.uk
Accessing Evidence Based Psychological Therapies – AccEPT
Accessing Evidence Based Psychological Therapies – AccEPT based at Exeter University is a psychological therapies service for adults in Devon who have mood disorders such as depression.
They are now accepting self-referrals from within the Exeter, Mid Devon and East Devon regions. They also accept referrals from North Devon for their Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) group. Referrals are made via Depression and Anxiety Services, GPs and the local Mental Health Assessment Teams.
Due to the current pandemic they are currently running online groups for people in Devon with a focus on maintaining wellbeing during Covid 19 pandemic.
Devon Learning Recovery Community
Providing online courses for people with lived experience of mental health difficulties, their family and friends, and the professionals who support them.
Their courses are for the benefit of people who wish to learn and to live well. You do not have to be using mental health services to access their courses.
E-Learning For Healthcare
A free online resource to support the vital care that unpaid carers provide. The e-learning will help you take care of yourself and carry out your day to day caring role.
Their online courses are for anyone who provides care and support to a family member or friend due to their disability, health condition, frailty, mental health problem or other health and care needs.
Bespoke bite-sized e-learning sessions for carers, developed with expert advice from Carers UK, with links to organisations offering more advice on topics relevant to that session.
HOPE Course (Help overcoming problems effectively)
Do you want to enhance your resilience through these difficult times, rediscover strengths and increase your ability to cope?
Managing a long term illness (whether it be your physical or mental health) can be stressful, tiring and incredibly lonely at the best of times. If you’re currently self-isolating in Torbay and South Devon and trying to cope, let us introduce you to the 16 week Virtual Digital HOPE Programme (uses MS Teams).
Lighthearts UK
This course provides free mental health resources & support by showing you how to keep on top of your stress, anxiety or depression.
Social Care Institute for Excellence
Social Care Institute for Excellence provide helpful video-based resources designed to help people look after someone safely at home. This resource will help you care for people in any situation, although this resource may be particularly useful if you are supporting someone during the COVID-19 crisis.
Each section has a set of videos designed to give you and the person you care for practical and relevant information to support you day to day including: how to help manage certain conditions and provide support for the people you are caring for.
There is no set order you need to go through these topics, and some may not apply to your specific situation but you can learn at your own pace and choose whichever is relevant to you.
Step One Charity
Step One Charity work with a diverse range of people who may have a mental health issue and/or a hidden disability such as an autism spectrum condition. As well as supporting individuals, their BeWell@StepOne project aims to support communities and businesses to understand and support their own, and other’s mental health and wellbeing through online and face-to-face learning opportunities and supportive groups.
They offer an online course which aims to help individuals to understand and support their own and other’s mental health and wellbeing. Small online groups cover topics including resilience, self-harm, OCD and Wellbeing for Carers.
Virtual College
The Virtual College provides a range of training for anyone who wants to enrol. Some courses are FREE to enrol and some you will pay for.
For both free and paid for courses you will need to register to make an account.