Learn With ESS

When people understand people better, they are better equipped to support others. 💚💙🧡

A brilliant session with the Early Help & Schools team at Rochdale Council, bringing together governors, HR specialists and colleagues from across the service.

Through Education, Sport and Speaking, we explored awareness, inclusion and the impact that small actions can have on staff, children and young people.

Great conversations, great engagement and plenty of laughter along the way.

Thank you for having us.

Words. That. Matter.

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When parents hear their child has a disability, their minds often jump straight to the future.

Will they be happy?

Will they be independent?

Will they have opportunities?

Imagine being told your child may never see clearly.

Imagine being told your child may never hear.

Imagine being told your child may never walk.

For many families, those moments can feel overwhelming.

But a diagnosis doesn't predict a person's future.

The three people in this photo all grew up with different challenges.

👁️ One can't see.

🦻 One can't hear.

♿ One can't walk.

Look at them now.

The disability never disappeared.

But neither did their potential.

Never underestimate what someone can achieve.

Anything is possible.

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Small changes can make a big difference.

We had a fantastic time delivering a disability awareness workshop with the team at Carrs Pasties in Bolton.

During the session, staff explored practical ways to better support customers and colleagues, including understanding how to support someone who lip-reads, confidently sighted guide a person with a visual impairment, and appropriately assist a wheelchair user.

The feedback was brilliant, with one comment standing out in particular:

"It's great to see an organisation investing in its staff like this."

That's exactly why these conversations matter.

A special thank you to Julie Ryder for joining us. With more than 20 years of experience delivering disability awareness workshops, Julie continues to make a huge impact through her knowledge and passion for inclusion.

Thank you to everyone at Carrs Pasties for getting involved.

Disability awareness isn't about treating people differently.

It's about understanding people better.

Julie Ryder

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What a fantastic time it has been delivering so far on the Learn With ESS X Rochdale Sixth Form College enrichment programme for the Year 12 students 🙌

Over the course of four weeks, we’ve been working with the students to create experiences around awareness, inclusion, communication, empathy, and understanding through a mixture of practical activities, talks, workshops, and open conversations.

From practical walkthroughs in the shoes of someone with a disability, to masterclasses around concepts such as Braille and sign language, alongside Q&As with individuals who have overcome challenges and barriers in their own lives, it has been brilliant to see the engagement, curiosity, and confidence from the students grow week by week.

The energy, respect, and willingness to learn from the group has honestly been incredible, and we’re excited for the final weeks still to come 👏

A massive thank you to Nick Wood and the team at Rochdale Sixth Form College for organising and supporting such a powerful opportunity for the young people. We’re really looking forward to continuing the journey together.

Another brilliant couple of days spent with the amazing young people and staff at Revoe Learning Academy in Blackpool ❤️

Over the two days, we had the pleasure of working across every single year group in the school, starting with a whole-school assembly before bringing the messages to life through our practical and interactive workshops.

A huge focus throughout the sessions was around empathy, understanding others, and being proud of the person you are. From sensory activities and teamwork challenges to communication-based tasks and discussions, it was incredible to see the enthusiasm, energy, and confidence shown by all the students taking part.

A special mention has to go to the Learning Garden group, Revoe’s SEN provision. Spending time with such a fantastic group of young people was an absolute pleasure. Their positivity, engagement, and willingness to throw themselves into every activity made the sessions really special.

Massive thank you to all the staff for the warm welcome, support, and kindness across the visit. We genuinely felt part of the school community for the two days.

Already looking forward to hopefully seeing everybody again next year! ✨

Words. That. Matter.

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Another lovely afternoon out in the community with Learn With ESS 😊

A huge thank you to everyone at The Fed and Heathlands Village in Prestwich for making us feel so welcome yesterday.

Heathlands Village, part of The Fed, is a fantastic community-focused setting supporting older people through residential, nursing and dementia care, whilst creating a space full of connection, warmth and positivity.

We had the pleasure of delivering an inspirational talk and Q&A session around challenges, resilience, disability, mindset and perspective, and the engagement and feedback throughout was brilliant.

The conversations, laughter and questions shared throughout the afternoon were exactly why I love doing this work.

A massive thank you to Lauren Rivkin for the introduction, and to Karen Ramsay and the wider team for having us. Hopefully this is just the beginning, and we’re looking forward to hopefully doing more together in the future ✨