A new e-learning programme has been launched for people who care for or support adults with learning disabilities. It has been designed to provide people with information on how to support an adult with a learning disability to achieve a healthier weight.
The training aims to help people understand the importance of nutrition and activity to our health and supports them to make small changes that can improve it. It is made up of three bite-sized 10-minute sessions.
You can access the three e-learning sessions on the NHS Learning Hub here.
The programme is based on research undertaken by Dr Karen Coulman, Senior Research Fellow and Obesity Specialist Dietitian, and Dr Amanda Owen-Smith, Associate Professor, both at the University of Bristol. It was developed in partnership with Brandon Trust, Health Innovation West of England, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. The work has been led by NHS England and the Government’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.
Dr Karen Coulman said: “It was an absolute honour to work with professionals from health and social care, family carers and people with lived experience to shape the training. We hope this learning will be useful for carers in supporting people with learning disabilities to live healthy and fulfilling lives.”
Karen worked with The Brandon Adventurers, experts by experience at the Brandon Trust to co-produce lived experience videos, which are included within the learning. Four individuals share their journeys as they make healthy changes and work towards a healthier weight and the support that helped them.
Alex Seaman is a Brandon Adventurer and one of the stars of the films included in the learning programme.
Alex said: “It has been an honour to share my story. I have really enjoyed doing this work and sharing my story, and I hope it inspires you all to think of different ways to help the people you support to have a healthy lifestyle… although it can be hard at times, the change in my life has been so big and I am so much happier now. Thank you all for watching!”
Dr Alison Tavaré is a Clinical Lead for Health Innovation West of England, in which role she supports the South West Learning Disabilities Collaborative.
Alison said: “Supporting weight management has been a priority for our Learning Disabilities Collaborative and we were delighted to be able to make the connections between NHS England, the Brandon Trust and local NHS health and care providers to make this important resource available.”
Justine Womack, Consultant in Public Health, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, said: “People with a learning disability die earlier from preventable chronic diseases and unhealthy weight and a lack of physical activity play a significant part in this. We know that the environments in which people live, their financial circumstances and their psychological wellbeing all impact on the food people eat and how active they are.
“This resource will help people supporting people with a learning disability to understand how healthier food and moving more can make a big impact on their overall health and quality of life and practical ways of making small but significant changes.”
Join a webinar to find out more
If you’d like to learn more about the e-learning programme, join a webinar hosted by NHS England South West on Monday 16 June from 12:30pm to 1:30pm.
The webinar will provide information about the new learning module, explain the rationale for developing the module (evidence and data), describe the research and consultation underpinning its development and will describe how the training can be used. Find out more and book here.
Posted on May 13, 2025
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