Mission Christmas:

Winter is drawing in, and cost-of-living pressures are still weighing heavily on families across the UK.
For them, Christmas is a time of stark choices. Choices between heating their homes or buying food. Choices that strip away the magic of Christmas. No child should worry that Santa won't come. Christmas is now a luxury that some families just can’t afford. The cost-of-living crisis has pushed more families into poverty. Our mission is to give disadvantaged children the joy of a gift from Santa. To make Christmas something special for over 270,000* disadvantaged kids across the UK.

At Rochdale Training, we believe in giving back to our community, especially during the festive season. This year, two of our team members, Lisa and Lorna, took part in the Mission Christmas campaign, helping to ensure no child wakes up without a gift on Christmas morning.

Samuel Thornton, 25, from Failsworth, Oldham, has embraced a brighter future thanks to the life-changing support of Rochdale Training. Growing up in a tough area, Samuel faced significant challenges, including dealing with Asperger’s, bullying at school, and difficulties connecting with traditional education.

“I never enjoyed school or college,” Samuel shares. “It didn’t feel like a place where I could do well. Dropping out of college was hard, but I knew I needed to finish my maths and English to move forward.”

With encouragement from his supportive family, Samuel was introduced to Rochdale Training through a recommendation—and everything changed.

We’re thrilled to share the fantastic feedback our Early Years Education course has received! Participants are raving about the 'informative', 'supportive' and 'relaxing' course that has transformed their outlook on education.

One student shared: “This course is not you're boring average course. It's creative, fun, informative and supportive all in one." Another Student added to this and said " I felt like I could speak freely in the group without any judgment. It felt like a safe space for me where anything that was happening in my outside life switched off and I could relax and not worry."

We would like to use this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who’s been part of this amazing course and an even bigger thank you to our amazing tutors who helped create this atmosphere for our learners.