The new Makaton website heralds an exciting chapter for The Makaton Charity. Over the past 6 months, in addition to developing online training and launching the revised Level 3 workshop guides and manuals, the team at Makaton head office have been beavering away to get our new and interactive website up and running.
This has ensured that the charity has both successfully weathered the Covid storm, while also starting us on Our Vision to ‘Double the number of people using and engaging with the Makaton language programme’.
What’s new?
The new website provides a range of additional functionality, including easier access to free resources and downloads, including current and back copies of Sign of the Week. The website offers improved self-service, with the ability to track your relationship with the Charity, download invoices, and where appropriate pay by Purchase Order, together with enhanced searching to help you find local and online training in your area.
Later in the month, we will be launching our new Makaton membership scheme, open to the public. The membership scheme will for the first time offer users direct access into the Makaton Library and MakaChat social area. The Makaton Library enables users to search our database of signs, symbols, and videos. MakaChat provides a Charity-approved facility to contact and ask questions to our team of experienced tutor ambassadors.
Expanding the Makaton Library
We will be setting out our aspirations for new products and services. These will include expanding the searchable database from our Core Vocabulary collection to include our full Resource database, with over 65,000 assets, supporting over 15,000 sign and symbol concepts. Makaton will be creating one of the largest digital searchable sign and symbol databases in the world.
New initiatives and aspirations
Longer term we are working on a range of new and exciting initiatives; from online booking where you will be able to register and pay for Tutors run courses to offering a self-service templating, where you will be able to develop your own Makaton forms and materials. We will be rolling out new and exciting online and face to face refresher training and practice sessions, so you can feel more confident using Makaton more fluently.
Finally following your feedback we are working with a range of third-party providers to better link the Makaton language programme with existing online and app-based provision, with the aim of making Makaton one of the best integrated language programmes.
Digital vs Traditional
While this is an exciting and significant step into a digital world, we are not forgetting the importance of direct delivery and the support that a face to face environment can offer, that is why we will be developing the digital alongside the more traditional teaching methods. Keep an eye out for the launch of the new Level 4 workshop, together with new signs and symbols to better meet the needs of our diverse community base.
Help and support
Do have a look at the website, it is well worth it.
If you do find things that aren’t quite right or if you need any support using the website, please drop us a note on the ‘Contact Us’ through the ‘Help’ icon on the website, or email our help desk team at [email protected], and our wonderful Makaton team will be on the case.
Thank you once again for your support, do keeping a look-out for new developments and releases coming soon and enjoy browsing our new website and library hub.
Happy browsing.. and do keep signing!