About us

Our family Makaton journey probably first started over 20 years ago when I explored signing for babies after my elder son was born. We then delved further as our younger son William arrived 5 years later. William has Down syndrome, autism plus several medical conditions. He has a hearing loss and has been wearing hearing aids since a baby.

Like many parents we learned Makaton to use at home. I recall we started to sign quite early on with William, then stopped as I couldn’t see William signing back and got quite disheartened. Other kids we knew around his age were picking up signs faster and doing better than him but they did not have his complex health issues going on. We watched Mr Tumble and Singing Hands together then I restarted doing more with him having attended Makaton training and feeling empowered and encouraged by parents of older children who recommended to just keep going. William started to sign, but at a slower pace and in his own way. Makaton and signing remain a big part of his life today as his speech development has been slow. We rely on a mixture of speech, signs and written words. Our use of Makaton has switched focus as he’s grown older to be more age related, be around encouraging communication, choices as well as preparing for adulthood.

My family is the one behind Special iApps C.I.C. specialiapps.org as we’ve been developing educational apps for children with a wide range of special educational needs and disabilities since 2011. During the coronavirus pandemic we started working closely with The Makaton Charity and you can read more about this here Special iApps Collaboration, and also what Sarah and Alfie sarahthemakatontutor.com thought of the The Makaton and Special iApps partnership.

If you’d want to introduce Makaton and are looking for tips, then I’d repeat the advice given to me a long time ago.

• Make it fun, as we all learn more if we enjoy the experience
• Take it easy, introduce one sign at a time that is meaningful to your family then practice and pace yourself
• Use it daily, and incorporate throughout your day weaving signs within your routines
• Keywords, pick out those key words and signs you need for your child you can then build them up to use more together as your child grows and develops
• Repetition, repetition, repetition, practice, practice and practice
• Find a signing buddy, as it’s good to share with someone going through the same thing at the same time and these friendships can last a while, even a lifetime!

One more thing I would add is that your child and your family are unique. Don’t compare. It’s hard not to as we as parents do, but each child is different. You will get a lot of advice from others (both parents and professionals), some of which may just fit into place, others might not. Never be afraid to try, and if you do stop or pause then take a break but do try again. Always give things a second chance and find your own pace that works for your family.

At the very start we learned a handful of signs as and when we needed them and learned more as time went on and William progressed. Over the years I’ve met families whose children signed in their early years and then stopped as they started to talk. For us, with William, it’s been the long haul. Signing is still part of our daily lives seventeen years on as we use it when we need to. Makaton isn’t just for babies but for adults too and covers all aspects of life as children grow into teenagers and then into adulthood. There are some fantastic resources available these days, much more than when we first started our journey. I continue to find new things to do with Makaton and find new resources and realise that there was a lot I didn’t know which I wish I did when he was younger and can also see a lot more that is available and that we can use with him now. Learning is lifelong, so we continue our journey…

Beverley Dean MBE, Founder of Special iApps C.I.C.
specialiapps.org
support@specialiapps.org

See also

• From Baby Signing to Talking Teenager (Part 2) Baby signing is for any child
• From Baby Signing to Talking Teenager (Part 3) William’s signing journey

Author

Beverley Dean MBE

13th March 2023

The majority of the pupils at a one form entry school in Newbury, Berkshire, have English as an additional language, with families from all over the world, making this a very special and unique educational setting.

Holly was a teacher in year 3 in the Autumn term, with a class of 32 children. While most of the ‘EAL’ pupils did not appear to have a language barrier as such in this particular cohort, there was one pupil who stood out more than the rest, who would slip behind but not reach out for help, who was kind and caring but quiet. For the sake of this blog, she will be referred to as Pupil A.

We used Makaton to sign ‘good morning’ and ‘good afternoon’ every day in class. Pupil A picked this up very quickly, leading her to be more responsive and confident during the register. Signing just these two concepts daily made a significant difference to Pupil A, who would gradually start to contribute a little more in class, start conversations and make links, building on her comprehension and inference skills.

Makaton symbols were used to support story maps of the text we were using in literacy and I would sign the story to the class, which all of the pupils enjoyed joining in with. Using the symbols with the signs further helped Pupil A to sequence the stories, creating her own story maps and innovating ideas in order to write her own version.

Holly’s teaching assistant and school ELSA, Sian Howard, worked with Pupil A in year 2 as well as year 3. After speaking with Sian, it became clear that since introducing Makaton signs and symbols, Pupil A has made significant progress with reading and writing as well as her making links through the movement of gesture as the connections were being made with her speech and recall.

Since returning from the Christmas holidays Pupil A continues to sign 'good morning ' and 'good afternoon'. It has been noted that her spoken English has become clearer and more confident. Makaton is used for Pupil A as much as possible in the classroom setting, for example, during a Spanish lesson on animals the sign for each animal was demonstrated to Pupil A in both Spanish and English. Pupil A finds Spanish challenging but did her best to follow the new vocabulary. After the lesson Sian went through the signs with her in English, Pupil A joined in with the signing, finding it easy to communicate using both her hands and her speech, and after felt confident enough to tell Sian a story about a cat she stroked.

Author

Holly Cannon-Taylor and Sian Howard

3rd March 2023

We are thrilled to introduce a brand new item in the Makaton Shop: Everyday Vocabulary Flashcards. A powerful tool for individuals of all ages and abilities to enhance communication and language development. With 37 carefully chosen signs and symbols, these flashcards cover a range of essential everyday words such as 'hello', 'house', 'food', 'toilet', 'book', 'telephone', 'yes', 'no', 'where', 'which', 'what', 'happy' and 'sad'.

Measuring 54mm x 85mm, these durable white PVC cards come with a sturdy metal snap ring for easy storage and organisation. Whether you're a parent, teacher, speech therapist, or caregiver, these flashcards can help support communication and interaction with individuals who have communication difficulties, language delays, or learning disabilities.

These flashcards can be used in a variety of ways to build sentences, initiate conversation, or prompt social interactions. They can also be used in conjunction with other Makaton resources to help develop literacy skills, increase vocabulary, and improve comprehension.

With the Everyday Vocabulary Flashcards, you can help individuals improve their communication skills and build confidence in their ability to express themselves. Get yours today for an introductory offer in the Spring Sale for just £11.96 (Usually £14.95). Use code SPRING23 when you checkout. This offer is only available until 31st March so don’t miss out, shop today!

As always, your purchase helps support the valuable work we do at The Makaton Charity to improve communication and understanding for everyone. We are grateful for your continued support.

Published

Belfast’s cross-community youth centre Ledley Hall Boys and Girls Club has become the first organisation in Northern Ireland to be accredited with the Makaton Friendly Silver award for outstanding commitment to communication inclusion training.

A special ceremony took place on Friday 17 February to mark the occasion. Guests included Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Michelle Kelly; the High Sheriff of Belfast, Councillor John Kyle; and Andy Allen MLA.

The Makaton Friendly Silver award is bestowed on organisations which have achieved a consistent set of criteria relating to staff training and Makaton accessibility in their public areas. Over a seven-year period Ledley Hall has completed Levels 1 - 4 of the Makaton training programme fulfilling the requirement to earn this prestigious Award.

Ledley Hall has worked with Makaton Tutor Grant Wetherall, of sign language training company SignSimply, to train leaders, parents, volunteers and boys and girls, many of whom have varying degrees of communication challenges.

Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Michelle Kelly said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Ledley Hall to be the first youth club in Northern Ireland to receive this tremendous award. It is truly a credit to East Belfast.”

Michelle Fullerton, Ledley Hall Youth Worker in Charge, said: “Over the last seven years we have made significant investment in our work to be actively inclusive, identifying the need to become trained in Makaton to ensure effective communication and inclusion for all our members. We are now in the fortunate position where all Ledley Hall staff, as well as some of our volunteers and parents, are trained to Level 4 in Makaton.”

Makaton Regional Tutor Grant Wetherall said: “Over the past seven years I have enjoyed working with Ledley Hall to realise their goal of making communication accessible for all. I am delighted that their dedication and hard work has now paid off and they can be recognised as an example to all NI organisations who seek equity of inclusion.”

Find out more about Makaton Friendly

Ledley Hall Boys and Girls Club
1st March 2023

Spring is just around the corner, and to celebrate the new season, we're excited to announce our Spring Sale! From 1st to 31st March, you can enjoy a fantastic 20% discount on all shop products*

At The Makaton Charity, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to communicate, understand and be understood. Our range of products, from books and resources to clothing and gifts, are designed to help promote inclusion and support communication for individuals with learning or communication difficulties. And now, with our Spring Sale, you can stock up on your favourite items at an unbeatable price!

To take advantage of this amazing offer, simply visit our online shop and browse our range of products. When you're ready to checkout, use the promotional code SPRING23 to receive your 20% discount. This offer is only available for a limited time, so don't wait too long to place your order!

As always, your purchase helps support the valuable work we do at The Makaton Charity to improve communication and understanding for everyone. We're grateful for your continued support and hope you enjoy our Spring Sale!

*excluding Membership and Tutor resources

Published

I am pretty sure all Makaton tutors love delivering training – seeing participants engaging, practising, collaborating, and having ‘lightbulb moments’ is such a buzz!

In addition to the formal Levels 1 through to 4, lots of us deliver something called a Makaton Taster workshop. This is exactly what it says on the packet; a little ‘taster’ of information about what Makaton is, who uses it, the benefits and aims as well as teaching a handful of signs.

I have really enjoyed working in collaboration with Elklan to deliver some of these online workshops based on Spring. Not only have these Taster Sessions raised awareness of Makaton and got participants started on their Makaton learning journey, but they have also made me feel properly spring like! How lovely for everyone to learn the sign for ‘chick’ (definitely one of my absolute favourites!) and sunshine! Guaranteed to put a smile on your face this Spring.

Tutor and Ambassador Amica Davies

Click here to search for Makaton Training in your area 

Author

Amica Davies

27th February 2023

Our first MakaHike in 2021 was on Snowdon, last year Ben Nevis and this year one will be on Scafell Pike, but we are really keen to make one accessible for all, both in terms of terrain, challenge and geography.

Come and join us in the South Downs, Ditchling area, on Saturday 1st July 2023 to raise funds for The Makaton Charity. Afterwards there will be a Makaton concert led by Singing Hands to celebrate our achievement and promote the wonderful work of The Makaton Charity. Light refreshments will be available

The main walk will be 5.5 miles on accessible bridleways, suitable for wheelchairs/pushchairs. There is also a 3 miles option. The walk will start around 1pm

The cost of your place will be £17.00 for adults £8 for 2-16yrs and free for U2s, this is paid direct to the event organiser: Richard Fish Outdoor Adventures (RFOA). This entrance fee includes experienced and qualified mountain leaders, all the organisation, first aid cover, public liability insurance and a Makaton T-shirt.

All participants are asked to raise a minimum sponsorship amount of £50.

We anticipate this event will be very popular and numbers will be capped due to the amount of space in the hall for the Singing Hands concert and to ensure the walk is managed effectively. Book early!

Are you ready for the challenge? Email richard.fish@makaton.org for the application form.

Published

11th January 2023

Baby signing is for any child

Our eldest son, Joseph, was born in 1999. It was when he was around 6 months old that I first encountered and learnt about baby signing. I vividly recall being in my kitchen, standing at the counter as I prepared his lunch watching him as he sat in his highchair and talking to him throughout. But something was different. This was the first time I saw him frustrated. As I made lunch, I talked away to him (as usual) but he was getting quite agitated, becoming more and more frustrated which was so unusual for him. Normally he would be happily playing and watching me whilst I prepared our lunch. A number of things were going through my head, “was he starving and just couldn’t wait?”, “was he thirsty?”, “did he want something different to eat?”, “did he want a toy?”, “did he need a nappy change?”, “was he too hot? or too cold?”, “did he have a pain?”, “was he ill?”…

I talked. He got more frustrated. I then started picking things up to show him so I could see his reaction. “Are you thirsty?” as I held his bottle. “Are you hungry?” as I held a banana, then showing him his teddy and toy car it was obvious didn't want either neither... I repeatedly asked, “What do you want?”, and he repeatedly pointed elsewhere making frustrated babbling noises. It was obvious that he wanted something, but I simply did not know what and could not work it out. I couldn’t see quite what he was pointing at and did not understand his babbling. It was frustrating for us both. In the end I gave up, took him out of his highchair, put him in his pushchair and we went for a long walk.

I just didn't understand what he was trying to communicate, it saddened me as I had snapped and said, ‘Just talk to me!’ which was unrealistic expecting him to be able to talk at his age. I mulled it all over in my mind as I pushed his buggy. I had previously read an article on baby signing and decided to explore further when I got home. Research I did and yes it confirmed signing was a fantastic way to communicate early with babies before they developed speech. Joseph didn’t have a learning difficulty; in fact he was the opposite (as we later found out that he was gifted and talented). At the time we did not know this, I was a new mum and simply wanted to try signing with him so that we could communicate. It made sense, so I bought a book, learnt a few basic signs, “eat”, “banana”, “milk”, “drink” and eagerly started. As the months past we incorporated signing into our routine and had fun together. Joseph started to talk, our need to use sign language dwindled so quickly phased out of our lives as his speech was rapidly developing. I gave the signing book to a friend who was intrigued by learning more about baby signing as at the time it was a relatively new concept. Remember this was over 20 years ago.

I didn't think about baby signing until five years later. We knew William our younger son had Down syndrome before he was born. Knowing this allowed us to do a bit of background reading before he arrived. A friend pushed a flyer through my door about a conference organised by our local Down syndrome parent support group. We registered for the event when I was pregnant and attended it when William was just 3 months old. Signing was on the agenda, and it brought back a few memories, so I was quite keen to start again from scratch with both my boys. This time with an older sibling to try things out on was a bonus!

The message was clear. Research showed that children with Down syndrome benefit from a signing environment and that using sign does not delay speech development. Engaging in any form of communication and language will help with brain development. Both professionals and parents we met endorsed this from their experience with their own children. We learned that speech development varies from child to child and as spoken words develop, children start to replace signing with spoken words and transitions from sign to speech. “Couldn't be easier“, I thought at the time, but second time round would turn out to be a very different experience for me as I wasn’t using it to support communication with an able gifted and talented child but with one who had a learning difficulty and complex needs.

William started his early intervention program around 4 months. He was in and out of hospital has had several operations. We started to have input from his Speech Therapist and his Portage worker as well as his Physio once settled at home. William was then diagnosed with a severe hearing impairment, so we met his Teacher of the Deaf who directed us again to Makaton. William got his first pair of hearing aids to wear which we knew from his reaction to sounds worked. He wasn’t hearing much if at all without them. He wore them daily and the message from everyone was the same “Learn to sign and start signing to him now. It’s best if everyone in the family learned to sign. Don’t give up as he will take longer to sign back to you”.

You can read about how William progressed with learning to signing as a baby and as he grew up to be a teenager in Part 3 .

Beverley Dean MBE, Founder of Special iApps C.I.C.
specialiapps.org
support@specialiapps.org

See also

• From Baby Signing to Talking Teenager (Part 1) About us
• From Baby Signing to Talking Teenager (Part 3) William’s signing journey

Author

Beverley Dean MBE

13th March 2023

William’s signing journey

As parents of a child who has Down syndrome, we were advised to learn to sign and start signing with William when he was just a few months old. The message was the same from other parents that we met in support groups as well as the professionals involved in William’s early intervention program.

We attended Makaton training, checking out our local library for resources, as well as buying and borrowing resources. Adding resources to his Christmas, Easter and Birthday present lists for families and friends to buy.

At the beginning we started to incorporate signing as a family at home and when out and about. Just a few key signs to start with such as “milk”, “drink”, “mummy” and “William”. I printed Makaton Symbols and put them around the house, so the toilet door had symbols and words for ‘toilet’ and ‘nappy’ (it still does today!). Sometimes this acted as a prompt for me to remember to sign during the day, not just for his benefit to see the symbol and word, but mine as well.

Something Special with Mr Tumble was new to CBeebies. In one episode we saw Singing Hands for the first time. We bought Mr Tumble and Singing Hands DVDs and signed up to local Makaton training. We also had in our collection Makaton Nursery Rhymes by Dave Benson Phillips and added Shabang and other resources as we found them. We would watch DVDs together, and so learned signs largely through songs and nursery rhymes at home as this was a really good way to repeat the actions and remember them. We joined Singing & Signing sessions with other children who had Down syndrome.

William was slow to sign, when he started he would make signs up. Many kids do. I recall we went to a Pantomime arranged by Down syndrome North East when William was just starting to sign himself. At the theatre as we sat down in our row, he started to repeatedly sign Gorilla. We were confused. There was no Gorilla at this pantomime. It hadn’t even started. Then it dawned on us. We were watching Cinderella and William did not know the sign for Cinderella, so he used what he thought best. A sign he did know from what the word sounded like. He was hearing the word endings where ‘Gor-illa’ was like ‘Cinder-ella’. We clapped and cheered and celebrated William’s drive and initiative to communicate to us, as it was one sign that came from nowhere, probably the only sign he had made that day! It’s much easier these days to check what signs are for new words you encounter and check signs that you don’t know or are not sure of as you can easily look them up on your phone. We asked other parents what the correct sign for Cinderella was. We then repeated the right sign to use and repeated it over and over again. We then went a further step, stringing more signs together to support the transition and re-enforcement. ‘Yes’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Good’. William would sign back ‘Gorilla’ ‘Good’ accompanied by a big smile on his face. It turned out to be a little while before Cinderella was not a Gorilla in our house. His speech therapist was amused but told us that he needed to use a sign or say a word correctly more times than he did incorrectly to reinforce, associate and remember the right one.

Another time that springs to mind was when we visited a friend, and William kept signing ‘fountain’. He was obsessed with water and fountains. We were confused as could not see a fountain and explained we were indoors, there was no fountain, putting it down to his obsession. Then from the corner of my eye I realised I was in the wrong, as saw an ornament that was indeed a fountain, battery operated complete with flowing water sitting on the windowsill slightly hidden by the curtain. I quickly learned to watch and wait before correcting William’s signs. He was seeing the world differently to me, so sometimes when I didn’t understand his signs, or they didn’t make sense in context the best thing was to wait and observe him and our surroundings, by looking at what he was gazing at often at his eye-level and where his focus or attention lay. He was starting to sign to communicate and needed positive encouragement, so I needed to learn patience before jumping to conclusions.

Children are like sponges. It wasn’t just me and William learning Makaton but also William’s elder brother Joseph who would sign to his baby brother and me. He is a very good Makaton signer today as has kept up and regularly practices. When they are together, they talk a lot about what they have been doing and use Makaton throughout. It’s important everyone around William knows Makaton. William had a new PA (personal assistant). She attended Makaton training after supporting him for a few months. It was interesting talking afterwards as she had thought William was making quite a few hand gestures but having been on training realised he was talking to her using sign language. It’s made a big difference in them understanding each other.

Looking back now, incorporating signing into our life has empowered William to communicate with his hands. We believe it has reduced frustration and has also developed his communication skills. He doesn’t sign everything perfectly and he doesn’t always sign but when we struggle to understand each other we fall back to signing and we can communicate and understand each other. He has a very large bank of signs today and can remember and sign practically anything you ask when prompted by saying ‘What’s the sign for…?’ I’m often impressed with what he has remembered and the breadth of his knowledge.

We are not at the start of our journey anymore, if you are I would say that at first it can be hard work. You may have a new baby, and this is a life changing experience. All babies are different and if yours has medical conditions then that adds to the load. Supporting a child with sign language may at times seem like a steep learning curve. Remember everyone is learning something new as you and your baby learn together. Everyone is adding something new to their daily routine, if it gets too much step back and take it one step at a time. Taking up signing and using it in your day-to-day life does need commitment, especially when your child isn’t signing back but I’d say stick to it as it can take a long time before you see the rewards. I agree with what others said to me when I was at the beginning of our journey. Be persistent, practice and start off with small manageable steps. There was a long time when we signed to William, but he didn’t sign back. He watched and understood us but did not sign himself as did not have the fine or gross motor skills to do so. I’m really pleased we persisted, believe me there were times when I wondered if it was worth it and times that I did stop and pause, but then we picked it up again. Now, I know the positive benefits Makaton has had for him and how it continues to do so. Makaton still has a place in his life with our new perception as a teenager. It’s helping him transition into adult life, continue developing speech and communication, life skills and independence, enjoy singing and signing and this happens both at home and at school since he's in a Special School 6th Form.

Beverley Dean MBE, Founder of Special iApps C.I.C.
specialiapps.org
support@specialiapps.org

See also

• From Baby Signing to  Talking Teenager (Part 1) About us
• From Baby Signing to Talking Teenager (Part 2) Baby signing is for any child

Author

Beverley Dean MBE

3rd March 2023

I have been tutoring Ian, 53, since February.

Ian has autism and has minimal speech, which can be unclear to those unfamiliar to him. Since February, we have been exploring Makaton symbols with an aim for Ian to be using them as a communication aid to help build his independent communication when out and about.

We introduced the symbols through story spoons for the characters in Room on the Broom. I would read the story and sign each character, to which Ian would then match sign to the story spoon. Over time, Ian added sound effects for the animals as he became more confident with the use of them. Recognising symbols through stories has been effective for Ian and he now recognises a range of them.

Since the video was filmed, we have moved on the exploring how the witch feels at various parts of the story, using the Makaton symbols for each emotion. We have then linked the emotions to how Ian feels. He now accepts that it is good to feel sad, angry and worried as well happy in different situations.

Ian also has a lanyard with emotions and of interests that he uses to request and as conversation starters.

Holly Cannon Taylor

Author

Hello, my name is Ana. I am from Spain but I live in Derry, Northern Ireland. My first memories of Makaton come from a video tape that I ordered when my daughter was recuperating from her heart surgery back in 2002. It was a video tape of Makaton Nursery Rhymes with Dave Benson Philips. My daughter was so poorly that I was never offered any formal training. They considered it an “unviable option” as there were little resources and they were only offered to those who were going to benefit most from the training...

Fast forward to June 2021, when despite the pandemic, lock-downs, remote teaching, remote learning, adjusting to the reality of having my daughter living in a residential setting, I qualified as Makaton Tutor. I did the Tutor Training via zoom. I was so lucky not only because my tutors were Zanna Finnerty and Tracy Clark but also because I met some of the most wonderful Makaton tutors: my fellow trainees. I found the whole experience both enriching and terrifying. (I didn’t know what zoom was until my tutor training and discovered that you can actually set the camera on top of the screen... )To this day, I meet regularly with my fellow tutors and we have become close friends. We practise; pick each other brains and we are hoping to meet in person one of these days...

As well as being a mum to a young lady with a rare chromosome disorder and a wonderful adolescent son, I am a full-time Modern Languages teacher in St. Columb’s College Grammar School. I wanted to become a tutor so that I could train the carers in my daughter’s setting, to show parents with children with special needs that we can do whatever we set our minds to, that there is hope; but I also wanted to bring Makaton to a main-stream setting. It is so important that everyone knows Makaton so that they can use it with those who rely on it as their way of communication.

I use Makaton everyday when I am greeting my colleagues and students, in the classroom when I am teaching, with my daughter... She is non-verbal but understands English, Spanish and Makaton and uses a Total Communication approach to get her point across.

I feel privileged that my workplace, St. Columb’s College, has incorporated Makaton Training as part of the Social Education Programme for our Year 13 students (formerly known as Lower Sixth). Every single year 13 student attends a Makaton Taster. Furthermore, as part of their Curriculum Enrichment, they also have the opportunity to do the Makaton Workshop Level 1.

I am so proud that nine of these young men have already achieved their Makaton Level 1; I am currently in the process of training another group of eleven students. These young men embraced Makaton and have learnt so much. They will be applying for part-time jobs, summer schemes, to work in voluntary organisations... They will be able to use what they have learnt in our wider community.

I firmly believe that education is the key. The more people that know Makaton the more inclusive society will become. When I train these young men, as part of the workshop, I talk about my own experience, about my daughter, about how a parent might feel when their child is not included or how a child might feel when he/she does not have the chance to make their voice heard.

Makaton makes it possible for everyone to build a better society. I love the core values of Makaton. I feel it is my duty as an educator and my privilege as a parent of a child with special needs to make sure that I spread the word. Makaton changes lives, not only the lives of those with special needs and/or communication difficulties but of everyone!

Author

Ana María Valadez Peña

9th January 2023

Conwy Connect spent a busy few weeks really getting festive with Makaton!

Our Makaton choir consists of members with learning disabilities and their parents / carers. It was established 4 years ago and has gone from strength to strength. Our inspiration comes from the amazing Suzanne and Tracey, 'Singing Hands'.

The Choir was invited to perform at Conwy Culture Winter Sounds event, following which were then asked to perform at an all-inclusive church event for the Archbishop of Wales. The choir performed beautifully.

The Choir was started by Michele Pipe, and over the last few years over zoom and face to face we have watched communication develop and signs become clearer. We are so proud of them all!

Non L
9th January 2023

Ledley Hall Boys and Girls Club is a youth centre based in Inner East Belfast, operating in the community since 1942 we have very strong links and are in the privileged position of delivering youth services to young people aged 5-25 years. The young people choose to come to us and it is this voluntary participation at the heart of youth work practice which makes the interventions we make with our young people and the relationships that we have unique to those with other professionals.

Over the last seven years we have made significant investment in our work to be actively inclusive, identifying the need to become trained in Makaton to ensure effective communication and inclusion of all of our membership. We are now in the fortunate position where all of our staff are trained to level 4 in Makaton as well as some of our volunteer team and parents. We have regular refreshers with our Makaton tutor Grant to keep us up to date.

We have purchased the Makaton Vocabulary CD’s which allow us to produce signage etc for around the centre. We operate sign and symbol of the week which is headed up by our Makaton Champion, we also have signage around the centre in Makaton, our safeguarding materials are displayed in a Makaton and easy read format and our Youth Worker in Charge has completed the Makaton Safeguarding Workshop. We not only use Makaton as a way of communicating with and providing an inclusive environment for Makaton users but we have also used Makaton to help develop the communication of our junior members through the use of songs, rhymes and at one point we had a Makaton choir.

Our plans for the incoming year are to work both on our own inclusion projects but also to work with our Makaton Tutor Grant Wetherall to share our knowledge and experience of developing the use of Makaton within the youth centre to others that Grant has recently trained by hosting them at our centre and showcasing the work that we do.

Ledley Hall Boys and Girls Club
9th January 2023

The Makaton Charity would like to express our deep sadness at the passing of Lynda Matthews at the age of 90. Some of you may have known her personally from the early days of Makaton, and it's clear from talking with Margaret and others who worked with her that she played a pivotal role in deploying the Makaton Language Programme. Without her passion, expertise and enthusiasm, today's Charity would not be the success it is.

A tribute from Margaret Walker:

It is with great fondness and respect that I will remember Lynda, as will many Makaton Tutors and work colleagues. She was the very first Makaton Training Officer, being appointed in the early 1980’s, just as interest in the Makaton Language Programme was increasing from all over the UK, and the need to provide relevant training was growing.

These were the pioneering days, when a small group of professionals including Lynda, joined me, not just to provide Makaton training, but to design and formalise the actual courses to suit the differing needs of parents, carers and a wide range of professionals. Lynda worked tirelessly so that we could provide a network of highly trained Makaton Tutors across the UK and many will remember her for the support and encouragement she gave them.

When interest in Makaton came from other countries, it was Lynda who joined me to take up the challenge, in countries as different as Norway, the USA, Kuwait and India.

I will always be grateful to Lynda for the personal loyalty and support that she gave me throughout and the invaluable contribution she made to the Makaton Charity.

Margaret Walker MBE
Founder of Makaton

Published

9th January 2023

A massive thank you to everyone who took part in our Countdown to Christmas.

To help you get through the dark days of January we’ve put together a few highlights and outtakes. Enjoy!

Published

8th January 2023

We are recruiting! A fantastic opportunity has arisen for an Administration Assistant (6-month FTC, part-time, up to 25 hours) to work across several of our teams.

The key focus of the position will be to provide a first-class administrative service to the Resources and Training Teams, including answering queries, managing workshop admin, logging compliance issues and licence requests, editing and amending workshop material, sending out materials to candidates and keeping accurate records of course attendees and volunteers. On occasion, this role will also support the HR Manager with some tasks.

Candidates must be very organised and detail oriented, and have an approachable, friendly, and professional manner. Candidates must also be able to work independently as well as collaboratively and understand the different needs of our Makaton community. Knowledge of MS Office is essential, and full training on our internal IT systems will be provided.

For more details about the position and to get a full job description, please contact our HR Manager, sarah.parke@makaton.org.

The role would ideally be based in our Frimley office, but some hybrid working is possible, and candidates must be able to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No agencies please.

No agencies please.

See also: Work for us

Published

11th January 2023

MakaHike '21 was Snowdon (the highest mountain in Wales); Makahike '22 was Ben Nevis (the highest in Scotland)… introducing MakaHike '23, the highest in England, Scafell Pike.

Standing at 3209ft Scafell Pike's summit is the highest point in England, with beautiful views of the lake district, rolling hills and valleys come and join us supported by a team of qualified mountain leaders on this ‘bucket list’ challenge! We will be climbing Scafell Pike from Wasdale. The journey there and back is 9km.

Come and join us in the Lake District, to the summit of Scafell Pike, on Saturday 22nd April 2023, to raise funds for The Makaton Charity. At the top there will be a Makaton ‘sing and sign’, again led by Suzanne Miell-Ingram from Singing Hands to celebrate our achievement and promote the wonderful work of The Makaton Charity.

Are you ready for the challenge? Cost is £49.00 per person with a minimum fundraising target £150. Email richard.fish@makaton.org for the application form.

Published

18th October 2022

From a crazy idea to a Queen’s Award

What if...

…I left my job as a safeguarding lead in the NHS, trained as a Makaton Tutor and set up a charity which combined my speech and language therapy training and creative skills to teach and raise awareness of inclusive communication. That was the thought stuck in my head while on maternity leave in 2016.

It was a daft idea, leaving the security of the NHS to work unpaid in a sector I knew nothing about. But the thought refused to go away; I had seen the lack of support for people with communication disabilities and the devastating impact that has on people’s lives:

• as a speech and language therapist working with adults with learning disabilities and autism
• as a safeguarding lead working with vulnerable adults with dementia, aphasia or other communication needs
• as a daughter and granddaughter when my Dad had a brain tumour and my Grandpa had a stroke

But was it sensible to leave a regular income and strike out into uncharted territory, especially with young children?

Of course it wasn’t. But if breaking my neck and back six years earlier has taught me anything, it is that life is for living - and I knew that I would regret it if I didn’t try.

Fast forward another six years, and Include.org is now a registered charity, based in Surrey, with a small staff team and over 50 volunteers working to provide community activities which promote Makaton signing and another inclusive communication skills. We raise awareness of communication needs in schools and businesses and provide training to help ensure that people with understanding and speaking difficulties get the support they need and deserve.

With the support of our volunteers, we run outdoor inclusive communication sessions, create easy read resources and devise training with our members. We now have not one, but two Include Choirs, which use Makaton signs, symbols, objects and more to make sure our members with communication needs are fully included and empowered.

Our volunteer team includes people with learning disabilities and autism who use or have used Makaton themselves - and without exception, we were all absolutely delighted to discover we’d been chosen to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service this year.

The Queen’s Award is described as the MBE for volunteer groups and, due to the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II, we are one of very last UK charities to receive it, making it even more special. We look forward to proving ourselves worthy of this honour and reaching even more people with Makaton and inclusive communication in 2023.

If you would like to support include.org in our mission, any donation made between 29th November and 6th December via The Big Give Challenge Website will be doubled! Needed more than words alone can say (thebiggive.org.uk)

For more information about Include.org please email info@include.org or visit www.include.org

Author

Alix L

8th November 2022

To celebrate the upcoming Countdown to Christmas  we are giving you the chance to win a beautiful handmade felt Advent calendar with Makaton Symbols.

For each day during Advent there is a hand sewn Christmas character and corresponding symbol.

For your chance to win, head over to our Facebook page and leave a comment on our post telling us your favourite Makaton moment of the year.

This could be, for example, a child using Makaton for the first time, a student using a choice board, your organisation becoming Makaton Friendly, or enjoying our Monday Sign of the Week! We would love to hear your Makaton stories!

Please note this item contains small parts, use under supervision.

Terms and Conditions

1. The promoter is: The Makaton Charity (company no. 06280108) whose registered office is at 66 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LH.
2. The competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom aged 18 years or over except employees of The Makaton Charity and their close relatives and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation or judging of the competition.
3. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
4. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
5. Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are via makaton.org/TMC/News_Stories/News/Win_an_Advent_calendar
6. Only one entry will be accepted per person. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified.
7. Closing date for entry will be 12pm 22nd November 2022. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
8. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
9. The rules of the competition and how to enter are as follows: Write a comment directly on the Facebook post stating your favourite Makaton moment of the year.
10. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in any event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
11. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.
12. The prize is as follows: Handmade felt Advent calendar with Makaton Symbols.
13. The prize is as stated and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.

Published

16th November 2022

My quest to become a Regional Tutor for Makaton began in 1994 when I was a student social worker in London investigating an abuse case in a care home. I quickly discovered that all the residents could sign, and I couldn’t. Makaton was such a powerful communication tool for the professionals and residents who could sign. Its use was invaluable as part of the investigation to bring charges against the abusers (Longcare Scandal, Buckinghamshire). I then went on to qualify in 1996 under Margaret Walker MBE (founder of Makaton), and Jean Parratt senior adviser.

Since qualifying in 1996, I have gone on to teach more than 3,000 participants.

Highlights:

• Setting up the very first Makaton Champion Scheme in Northern Ireland
• Awarding five Makaton Friendly Awards
• Cross Community training for West & East Belfast (Ledley Hall Youth Club)
• Demonstrating the Makaton Programme to the following courts: London High Court, Belfast High Court, Belfast Laganside Court, and Londonderry Crown Court
• Published articles in Community Care magazine (communicating with disabled people).
• Training a wide variety of companies, charities and health Trusts. Selections below:

• London Boroughs of Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Lambeth and Richmond upon Thames
• In Northern Ireland the following Trusts: Southern Health and Social Care, Northern Health and Social Care, South Eastern Health and Social Care
• Sure Start, Contact-a-family, Praxis Care, Northern Ireland Police Service (PSNI), Mencap (in London and Northern Ireland), the Scout Association (HQ London), United Response, Bayis Sheli (Orthodox Jewish Community Residential Home in North London)
• A number of schools including Irish speaking schools in Belfast

•  Setting up a Peer Tutor in Belfast
• Finally, and for a bit of fun, teaching/signing a few of the Spice Girls’ songs in Richmond Park, Surrey with Margaret Walker MBE, and Norma Wingfield (senior tutor/advisor) for a disability awareness weekend in 1999. (Holy Park).

A word of encouragement from Stephen Hall CEO of The Makaton Charity:

Grant, firstly, many thanks and congratulations for such sterling service. We couldn’t achieve what we do without the passion, enthusiasm, and hard work that you put in. So, a big thank you.

Grant Wetherall

Makaton Regional (Licensed) Tutor - Established 1996









If you'd like to find out more about training to be a Makaton Tutor please visit our Become a Makaton Tutor page for more information on how to get started on your journey.

Author

Grant Wetherall

7th November 2022

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas from everyone at The Makaton Charity and our international partners!

Published

10th January 2022

We're taking 20% off all downloads in the Makaton shop, and 10% off all other products.*

There's something for everyone. Whether you're looking for products and resources to support you at home or at work, or just want to give your loved ones a gift that will make them smile.

Just use the promotion code WINTER22 when you checkout.

The relevant discount will be applied to the total cost of your order.

Sale ends 31st December 2022.

*excluding Membership and Tutor resources

Published

At the age of 9, Honor Godfree has just achieved her Brownie Gold Award, the highest attainment in Brownies, and one of the interest badges that she completed for the Skills For My Future theme is her Languages badge. The badge has three tasks for the Brownie to complete: using four or more phrases to be understood; learning about where the language comes from, who uses it, etc.; share your skills.

Honor was very eager to use her Makaton knowledge in this badge, with a clear understanding that Makaton isn’t a language like BSL but rather a language programme with symbols, signs and spoken words. The phrases she chose to share for part 1 of the badge included “my name is Honor”, reminding me that she stopped her hand at the end of the non-dominant hand for H “otherwise it means clean”!

Honor started her Makaton journey when she was just three. After qualifying as a tutor, I had started a Makaton sing and sign group at her mother’s childminding business and Honor was among the first cohort of preschoolers who made funny frog faces, learned colours through the Gruffalo song, and animals through Room on the Broom. Since then, Home From Home has become a Makaton Friendly company, with Makaton embedded in its practice.

For the second part of the badge challenge, Honor talked about the use of symbols around the childminding area, including drawn by hand in large scale on toy storage boxes, to enable the little ones to make choices. She also loves watching how the babies and toddlers start to use their signs to communicate, often before spoken language.

For the past 4 years, Honor has attended a weekly Makaton choir with other children, both preschool and school-age, firstly at a local care home, then during covid on zoom, and now back as a fully intergenerational group in a retirement village. She supports younger children with their signing, and does a really good job of sharing the joys of Makaton with our new friends amongst the older adults.

For the “share your skills” part of the badge, she took the lead in performing We Don’t Talk About Bruno, encouraging all the other children to take part and reminding them of the words/signs as needed, for the village residents, none of whom had ever heard of Encanto, didn’t have a clue what the song was about (!), but who absolutely loved the performance.

Honor’s favourite signed song is You’ll Be In My Heart, and she particularly loves the video by Singing Hands at Great Ormond Street Hospital. As a 26-week preemie, Honor spent the first few months of her life in a children’s hospital and experienced a lot of hospital appointments as a toddler and an emergency operation when she was 5. Family friends from her NICU months have had a very different story and the magical mix of the words of You’ll Be In My Heart with the signing from everyone in the GOSH family, from parents, to consultants, to nurses, to porters, really exemplifies, for Honor, the power of Makaton to connect us all and build relationships through better communication.

Author
Linda B
3rd November 2022

It is with real sadness that we read of the passing of our Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She has been a guiding hand to our nation and an inspiration to all in our community and will be deeply missed. We offer our sincere condolences to the King and all His Family; our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time.

Published

9th September 2022

 Odie’s Odd Odyssey is Head2Head Sensory Theatre’s latest Makaton-signed, multi-sensory and interactive film, and is available on YouTube for FREE! Just click here to view on YouTube 

Join Odie as part of the ship's crew on their treacherous journey home to Ithaca. Head2Head Sensory Theatre's story is based on Homer’s The Odyssey. Alongside Odie and his friends, you will be entranced by the lotus flowers, escape from Cyclops, enjoy a little bit of luxury, be turned into a pig and much much more!

When you click on the YouTube link for Odie’s Odd Odyssey, you will see the description contains a further link to an accompanying film guide explaining how the multi-sensory and interactive moments work. There are also links to a YouTube playlist, with craft-activities and dance moves to complement the film, and a resource pack which can be found on the Head2Head Sensory Theatre website. The pack suggests a list of bits and bobs to gather together beforehand for a truly multi-sensory and interactive experience. There are things to make too, like a piggy nose, and these are demonstrated by the actors as part of the Odie’s Odd Odyssey YouTube playlist. In addition, the pack contains the storyline and song lyrics (also in widgets), as well as other games and activities

And we are delighted to introduce Emily Monk who is playing the role of Athena.

Emily auditioned for us as part of our professional placement scheme. This is her first paid role! We were also fortunate to have the voice skills of Annabel Inskip and Joss Perring as Muse 1 and Muse 2. Annabel and Joss, along with Archie Smith (in charge of sound during filming), are part of our Work Experience Programme run in conjunction with the Orpheus Centre. You can also see Archie introducing the craft and dance activities on the YouTube Playlist. We even have our patron, the disability campaigner Samantha Renke, voicing a god!

We hope you enjoy watching and joining in with Odie’s Odd Odyssey.  And please remember to hit subscribe on our YouTube channel!

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & TikTok @h2htheatre

www.h2hsensorytheatre.com

Previous blogs from Head2Head Sensory Theatre

Head2Head Sensory Theatre
Head2Head Sensory Theatre (Part 2)

Author

Sara Cole

Artistic Director
Head2Head Sensory Theatre

1st Sptember 2022

Makaton Tutor Jess McQueen was involved in creating the Makaton Insights campaign and shares the journey to launching the campaign, the benefits and plans for the coming year. You can find the daily Makaton Insights on social media and within the Makaton Library (additional exclusive Insights are available for members)

Firstly, I am proud to have been a part of creating the Makaton Insights for 2022 in collaboration with Zanna Finnerty, Alex Jordan and Nic Pike. The idea of the insights campaign was developed through thinking of ways to engage Makaton Users in activities that would not only strength their skills but broaden their knowledge and vocabulary.

From playing around with different interactive activities and games, the names were chosen to fit with the names of the week – you can never go wrong with a bit of alliteration! The themes for 2022 are ‘Topic Tuesday’, ‘Which Wednesday’, ‘Thesaurus Thursday’, ‘Fun Friday’, ‘Makaton Moments’ and ‘Scavenger Sunday’.

The Insights are a fun, engaging and interactive way to develop Makaton skills as well as broadening the knowledge, awareness and understanding of the Language Programme. They are designed to involve everyone – family, friends, schools, nurseries, colleges, workplaces, community groups etc. regardless of if they are a Makaton User or not.

With the success of the 2022 insights and the positive feedback we have had, new insights are currently being designed for 2023. They will be presented in a range of activities that will continue to widen skills and knowledge, as well as develop symbol recognition and alphabet skills. Without the involvement of the community, the insights would not be successful. So I, alongside The Makaton Charity, thank you all so much for your enthusiasm to take part in the insights.

Jess McQueen (Makaton Tutor)

Click here for more information on Makaton Insights 

Author

Jess M

31st August 2022

Congratulations to our MakaHikers who completed Ben Nevis to raise funds for The Makaton Charity. Our team of intrepid MakaHikers have raised over £9,500 so far!

Thank you to everyone who has donated, all money raised will enable the Makaton Charity to continue our vital work to ensure anyone with learning or communication difficulties has the tools and resources they need to understand and be understood.

It's not too late to support our MakaHikers and any donation, no matter how big or small, will make a difference to the lives of Makaton users and those who support them. Make a donation

Published

12th September 2022

We are delighted to announce we have been working with Sky to launch a brand new Makaton-friendly page which you can find on Sky Q!

The Makaton destination page on Sky Q is packed full of shows and films based on the suggestions and top picks of the Makaton community around the country, including many of your regular favourites, a range of great films and much more. There is a range of different categories, all with Makaton symbols in the images to help you find your way around easily.

To access it, grab your Sky Q voice remote and just say ‘Makaton’, ‘Makaton friendly’, ‘Makaton area’ or ‘Makaton shows’ into it to open it up.

We hope you enjoy and would love to hear your feedback and thoughts on how it works and if there’s anything we should add! If you have any feedback please email help@makaton.org.

Click here to find out more about Sky Q

Published

30th August 2022

Tutors encounter so many Makaton users and their families/ professionals around them, at different stages in their lives. As such, we often wonder how those people are getting on. Are they still using Makaton? Are they still supported with their communication?

Well, this year, Makaton Ambassadors Sarah Laszlo and Amica Davies got to find out! (For privacy reasons we are calling the young person Ben.)

In the early 2000s, Sarah Laszlo was delivering some Makaton training for parents and carers in Shropshire in an Early Years setting. There were some parents that really stood out; they absorbed everything and were super keen to get started with Makaton to ensure they could communicate with their child who had significant communication needs. Little did Sarah know that years later their child would be a student at Derwen College where she worked as a teacher, Makaton Tutor and Learner Voice Lead. Derwen College is a National Specialist College which has been considered a centre of excellence for Makaton, so this was ideal for Ben.

Ben’s parents recognised Sarah straight away and she remembered them. This gave Ben a link and he often sought Sarah out to share a joke or to talk about football, always using Makaton to augment his speech. His confidence really grew in an environment where everyone was using Makaton.

Ben has now left Derwen. His parents and family are still passionate about using Makaton but earlier this year felt that they really needed a refresher. However, as fulltime carers for their son, they were not in a position to be able to leave him to go on a course. In usual circumstances, Makaton training is for parents, carers, professionals etc that support a Makaton user rather than for the person themselves. However, when Ben’s parents approached Course Beetle, the organisation running the Level 1 and 2 workshops, they explained their situation and asked them to consider Ben accessing the course with them. They felt he would manage the theory side of the workshop. After lots of communication at all levels and considerable consideration, Course Beetle agreed that Ben could come along. They ensured there were clear boundaries and that everyone had a full understanding of the situation.

In May 2022, Ben and his parents accessed Makaton training, this time with me, Amica, as the lead tutor. When they learned that I also used to work at Derwen with Sarah, they were so pleased and shared Ben’s journey with Makaton. They remembered Sarah Laszlo and Julie Hawkins, the Speech and Language Therapist and Makaton Senior Tutor from Derwen too.

Ben was an absolute pleasure to have on the course and really in his element; he was beaming with pride each time he produced his signed sentences. In fact, so proud he took a bow after each one! His parents were thrilled as Ben, in usual circumstance, has social anxiety. But there, with everyone speaking ‘his language’ he was confident and communicative.

In our training we frequently talk about the importance of continued use of Makaton and how it is essential that there is a shared communication system to increase the opportunities to communicate. Ben was a real life example of this! Thank you, Ben, we have loved working with you on your Makaton journey and hope to see you and your family again as you continue that journey!

Author

22nd August 2022

A school in Stoke hosted the launch of a new national resource it helped develop to help children with special educational needs to learn, understand and communicate about sexual abuse. NSPCC Talk PANTS with Makaton, launched at Watermill School on Thursday, June 23, features Pantosaurus, a friendly dinosaur, who uses age-appropriate language to help primary schoolchildren understand that their body belongs to them and to recognise when something is not okay and how to tell someone.

The new scheme will be the first time Pantosaurus has shared resources using Makaton, a unique language programme for people with disabilities that features symbols, signs and speech to help improve communication. The project has been developed by the NSPCC Together for Childhood Stoke partnership, Watermill School and The Makaton Charity, and will soon be shared across the UK.

Brigitta Beckett, from Watermill School, said: “We’re really proud to be part of this project, as it will give children a voice in difficult situations, particularly those who have communication difficulties. “We got involved with the NSPCC Together for Childhood Stoke project several years ago, when Coventry University asked us to take part in some new research. The parents from our Watermill Parents Group became involved and discussed the challenges that lots of their children faced when communicating, especially around helping to keep them safe from sexual abuse. “It was during these discussions that the idea of NSPCC Talk PANTS with Makaton originated from and although it has taken some time, we are so excited that we can finally share the resources with everyone. We know that these resources will make a huge difference to so many children and we are really pleased that we have been part of such a fantastic project.”

Since the PANTS campaign was launched, over 1.5 million parents have spoken to their children about the PANTS rules - . Rachel Wallace, NSPCC Local Campaigns Manager for the Midlands, said: “We’re delighted to be launching these new resources at Watermill School where the idea for these resources first came about. Once launched, anyone across the UK will be able to access these resources via our website. “Talk PANTS helps all children understand that their body belongs to them, and they should try to tell someone they trust if anything makes them feel upset or worried. Children with disabilities are three to four times more likely to be abused than those without disabilities, so helping children with a range of needs to talk PANTS is really important. “Children who use Makaton can now learn about the PANTS rules by watching a series of short films and they can continue the conversation with teachers and parents by using Makaton symbols and signs from our free downloads.”

The new free resources have been created in partnership with The Makaton Charity and include:

Six films – one for each of the five PANTS rules and a summary film
A guide for parents and carers
A children’s booklet
A prompt card pack which can be printed, laminated and cut into individual prompt cards

Published

30th June 2022

Liverpool FC’s Official Mascot Mighty Red and the LFC Foundation have become the first ever Mascot programme and Premier League Football Foundation to be awarded Makaton Friendly Status.

By joining the Makaton Friendly scheme, the Reds can make their services accessible to everyone, especially those who use Makaton to aid their communication. As Mighty Red is a non-verbal character the use of Makaton will support fan engagement on matchdays at Anfield and Prenton Park and during his non-matchday community appearances and Anfield Tours.

To get accredited by The Makaton Charity, Mighty Red and LFC Foundation completed the Makaton Training and were awarded silver status, the highest accreditation. This involved learning Core Vocabulary along with special sports associated words.

Rishi Jain, senior manager ED&I at LFC said: “We’re proud to achieve Makaton Friendly Silver status and recognised for making our club as inclusive and accessible as possible to every fan.  “This has been an important piece of work by both the foundation and the mascot team and one we are immensely proud of. Thanks to The Makaton Charity, we can now ensure that all of LFCF’s Kicks Inclusion, SEN, Mental Health sessions and Mighty Red appearances are inclusive to all of those who require the use of Makaton to aid communication.”

Hannah Anderson, Membership and Partnerships Director from The Makaton Charity, commented: "We are thrilled to award the Liverpool Football Club Mascot Mighty Red and the Liverpool Football Club Foundation with Makaton Friendly Silver status in recognition of enabling their staff to learn Makaton signs and symbols to support people with communication difficulties. “The Makaton Charity exists to ensure everyone living with learning or communication difficulties has the tools and resources they need to understand and be understood. The charity aims to ensure that as many people as possible have access to Makaton and initiatives such as the Makaton Friendly partnership programme are a key tool in making organisations and community spaces more accessible to Makaton users. “The scheme drives inclusivity to help create a fairer and more tolerant society for all. This ensures that the excellent work done by organisations such as Liverpool Football Club continues within the community so that all visitors feel welcome"

Head to Mighty Red’s Instagram to see how to sign You’ll Never Walk Alone, Hello My Name Is and I Love LFC in Makaton.

Find out more about Becoming a Makaton Friendly Partner

Published

27th June 2022

To celebrate the launch of the NSPCC Talk PANTS with Makaton resources, we are giving you the chance to win a Pantosaurus goodie bag!

For a chance to win, head over to our Facebook page, post a comment directly on the post, with a video signing one of the PANTS rules.

Find out more about NSPCC Talk PANTS with Makaton

Terms and Conditions

1. The promoter is: The Makaton Charity (company no. 06280108) whose registered office is at 66 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LH.
2. The competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom aged 18 years or over except employees of The Makaton Charity and their close relatives and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation or judging of the competition.
3. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
4. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
5. Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are via https://makaton.org/TMC/News_Stories/News/Win_a_Pantosaurus_Goodie_Bag.aspx
6. Only one entry will be accepted per person. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified.
7. Closing date for entry will be 16th July 2022. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
8. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
9. The rules of the competition and how to enter are as follows: Post a comment directly on the Facebook post with a video signing one of the PANTS rules.
10. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in any event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
11. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.
12. The prize is as follows: Pantosaurus Goodie Bag.
13. The prize is as stated and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
14. Winners will be chosen at random by software, from all entries received and verified by The Makaton Charity.
15. The winners will be notified by DM on Facebook within 28 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
16. The Makaton Charity will notify the winners when and where the prize can be collected / is delivered.
17. The Makaton Charity’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
18. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
19. The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.
20. The winners agree to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material, as well as their entry. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.
21. Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.
22. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other Social Network. You are providing your information to The Makaton Charity and not to any other party.

Published

10th November 2021

My name is Kirsty. I have a learning disability and autism. 

I wanted to learn Makaton to help me communicate with people who I go to day services who use it and people who live in the same supported living flats that I live in. At one of my day activities I’ve started to communicate with a Makaton user and last week they gave me a really big hug to show they were happy with me signing to them.

I did Level 1, 2 and 3 with Nic Pike who runs relaxed sessions for people who have additional needs. This was perfect for me because it was spread over 8 weeks and I didn’t feel overwhelmed by it. I am planning on doing Level 4 with her later this year. I also joined her weekly club and met other people with disabilities like myself. It was nice we could all get together online. I also attend Singing Hands choir once a month which regularly refreshes my mind signing and singing

It’s really important to me that I can learn Makaton and communicate with people who use it. I go to day services and clubs that Makaton users attend and I want to be able to say hello to them. Or ask them their name. It's really important to me that I can talk to everyone who goes not just the people who can talk.

I joined the Makaton website and had a free membership at first. Then I got a free trial after I had done my level one training. I really liked it because I could look up symbols and signs I forgot and see them. You can see the pictures of the symbols and the pictures and videos of the signs. The videos are really helpful. I like the symbols and I have downloaded them to make easy read recipes for me to use at home. It’s nice when my friends come round and we use them to cook together.

I downloaded the Rainbow Bunting and signs sheet for Pride month as I am part of the LGBTQ+ community and it was really fantastic Makaton made resources for this. I have downloaded other resources as well to learn new words like the one of the summer signs and the advent calendar at Christmas. There is lots and lots on there that helps me learn and is also fun.

With the cost of living and all my bills going up I was worried about being able to continue to do Level 4 and have my membership to the Makaton library. There are lots of things on there which help and I want to do my Level 4 this year. One of the staff from the company who supports me is a Makaton Tutor and she found me a link through Mencap to apply for funding to use for either my level four or membership so I can continue to learn, attend sessions and access the resources. They helped me complete the application and I found out this week my application was successful and I have been given a grant. I didn’t know I could get anything like a grant or help for things like this. I feel very lucky and I wanted to share my story.

I am really happy I can continue my Makaton journey and be able to communicate with people who use it. I’m excited to do my Level 4 and keep using the library to check signs and download symbols to make my recipe collection bigger and bigger. And I am excited to see what more things like the Pride resources Makaton make in the future for me to download.

Makaton Membership gives you access to Makaton symbols, signs and videos, MakaChat support, access to exclusive member events and much more. Click here to find out more abut what membership can offer you!

Author

Kirsty S

29th June 2022

We are launching a Makaton International Awareness Day, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Makaton Language Programme, which will take place on Sunday 28th August. Get your flags at the ready, bake that cake and grab yourself a picnic as we are having Makaton inspired garden parties around the country to celebrate!

We would love you to take part by flying the Makaton flag with us and hosting your own garden or house party. We have been busy making free resources for you to download, to decorate and give your party some Makaton magic. Including Makaton bunting, cake wraps and flags.

We have chosen the 28th August to celebrate our wonderful Makaton community as it is the Makaton founder Margaret Walker’s birthday. Within the resources there is a very special ‘colour in’ flag postcard where you can write a birthday wish to Margaret Walker.

Click here to download Makaton International Awareness Day Resources

We also have a range of new items available from the shop, including T-Shirts, wristbands, flags, and button badges .

Take photos of your Makaton party and share on social media using the hashtags #MakatonAwareness #FlagsForMakaton

If you wish to fundraise alongside your party, we’ve created some fundraising ideas to get your imagination flowing as well as a sponsorship form located within the resources area.

Fundraising ideas A-Z

Sponsorship form

Donations can also be made online via https://makaton.enthuse.com/profile

Published

12th July 2022

Special iApps and The Makaton Charity have been working closely to enable the Makaton Language Programme to be used as part of the Special iApps Membership.

Special iApps are pleased to offer a growing set of resources that include images of official Makaton symbols with corresponding text and audio. These are currently available to download and use in the Special Words Plus app, which is available as part of the Special iApps Membership.

To access the resources you must have a membership to both Special iApps and Makaton. Makaton symbol add-ons are currently provided for Special Words Plus only. These resources are grouped according to your Makaton Membership level and the ones that you can access therefore depend on your current membership level. Free and Standard resources are now available, Premium resources are coming soon.

Using these resources in Special Words Plus is a great way to learn and reinforce sign-based communication, as well as encouraging speech and other skills.

To view and use Makaton resources in Special Words Plus you need to login to your Makaton Membership account and copy your iMIS ID number, you'll be required to enter this into your Special iApps account and will link your two accounts together. Once linked the Makaton vocabulary will remain available to use within Special Words Plus. You are required to have both a valid Special iApps Membership as well as valid Makaton Membership to use the apps together.

To celebrate the launch of this new partnership, Special iApps are offering a 50% discount to Makaton Members until July 31st. Please visit https://www.specialiapps.org/en/subscribe-special-iapps and apply the discount code MAKATONJUL50 which will give you 50% off your first years’ membership to Special iApps.

(Discounted rates: 1 device membership usually costs £50, but is £25 for Makaton Members. 3 device membership usually costs £100, but is £50 Makaton Members)

Published

27th June 2022

We are recruiting! A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a Finance Shared Services Assistant (full or part-time) to support our Finance team with excellent administrative and customer support. Key tasks include sales order checking and processing, daily sales processing, credit control and providing support to Makaton Tutors with orders, licencing, and renewals queries.

Interested candidates must have good analytical skills, and an excellent working knowledge of MS Office packages. A full or part AAT qualification is desirable but not essential and candidates must have an approachable, friendly, and professional manner.

For more details about the position and to get a full job description, please contact our HR Manager, sarah.parke@makaton.org.

This is ideally a full time (35 hours per week), permanent vacancy, but part-time options would be considered for the right candidate. Role based in Frimley, with hybrid working options available (after probationary period).

The closing date for applications is Monday 18th July 2022.

No agencies please.

See also: Work for us

Published

29th June 2022

It is just over two years since the first cohort of Makaton Ambassadors were asked to become Ambassadors.

As Ambassadors we all undertake different tasks around different skills sets or areas of interest and knowledge. We have regular meetings online with senior management along with the Senior Tutors to discuss and update different matters. Being a Makaton Ambassador is a voluntary role and we all do our best to fit this around other family and work commitments.

There are many different duties and projects to work on as Ambassadors. Some of these over the past years have included:

• Updating the Safeguarding Workshop and the Safeguarding Train the Trainer course for Tutors to attend
• Supporting and mentoring the second cohort of Trainee Ambassadors
• Supporting the wider Makaton Tutor, Trainer and community network through emails, telephone calls and monitoring MakaChat on the Hub
• Trialling and developing different software programmes and providing feedback
• Updating resources available to Trainers and Tutors regarding Makaton Signing for Babies and Families. Introducing a Makaton Trainer MakaChat area, network, study days and logo polo shirts
• Supporting the Makaton Charity virtually and face to face with events such as study days and fundraising events
• Sharing ideas of how to fill any gaps there may be in available resources and Makaton signs and symbols (and developing and producing the resources)
• As a team we share ideas on how to raise the profiles of different schemes or areas of training and practise our signing and symbol knowledge together

There are so many different ways to support and move The Makaton Charity forward as a team and a community. The main barrier I have found is that there don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to fit everything in! It is really exciting to see how The Makaton Charity is shaping and developing to become a sustainable service for the future whilst responding to the needs of our Makaton community and their environments. I for one am very proud to be part of that team to shape things.

Author

Kerry C

27th June 2022

For South Staffordshire College’s end of term Staff Wellbeing Celebration and Awards Event the college’s Teaching and Learning Team and resident Makaton experts Alison Fawdrey & Carol Barr came together to work on a project which would raise the awareness of Augmented Reality and Makaton to all the college’s academic, business and support staff.

The team developed an Augmented Reality (AR) scavenger hunt where staff followed a series of Augmented Reality Checkpoint posters located across the college’s Rodbaston campus. Staff triggered the digital content and tried to complete the hidden questions and activities from the Augmented Reality posters. On the way staff learnt about the college campus and what it has to offer to both staff and learners, learn some Makaton signs, whilst having a great time.

The staff wellbeing event was held at the colleges Rodbaston campus on Friday 8th July 2022 and incorporated fun activities including live music, raffles, drum for fun, laughing yoga, encounters with animals and reptiles, a free BBQ and awards presented to staff by the college’s executive leadership team.

Steve Wileman Head Of Digital Learning said:

“The wellbeing day was a great success and the Augmented Reality activity allowed staff to discover parts of the campus they have never visited before. Instead of relying on written notes to navigate around the college campus, the Augmented Reality and Makaton content turned this into an interactive experience by introducing digital items into their journey. Makaton signing was one of the quiz elements for each of the AR web trail posters. Staff downloaded the free AR platform Zappar (or simply used the QR code from their smart phone camera ).

At each AR poster, staff pointed their phone at the AR/QR code poster, which triggered information , videos and quiz elements. Alison demonstrated relevant Makaton signs for staff to learn as they progressed around the campus and completed the AR Webtrail and quiz.”

Janine Magee Head Of Teaching & Learning said:

“Makaton reached every staff member at the college who took part in the AR web trail. At lunch time when staff collect their free burgers they were encouraged to say “thank you” in Makaton when they received their food. Staff really enjoyed learning the Makaton signs and are now contacting Alison, Carol and the Teaching and Learning Service to embed both Makaton & Augmented Reality into their lessons.”

Based on staff feedback from the Wellbeing day the college’s Digital Technologist Jake Owen & Makaton experts have been developing more AR web trail activities and posters that incorporate Makaton signing for the colleges September learner inductions. An example can be seen below.

Scan to experience the QR/AR content yourself.

Author

Steve W

2nd September 2022

My name is Abigail and am 27 years old. I was diagnosed with learning disabilities and other medical issues.

My Makaton journey started back in January 2022 when I started to become interested in learning Makaton. I have learnt over 100 or more signs so far, and I am doing absolutely incredibly at it! This has continued through watching Singing Hands DVDs too, which has been amazing: hopefully by the end of 2022 this continues throughout the coming months and years.

I can’t believe how well I am doing as an adult with disabilities. Makaton has become my absolute favourite thing do.

This journey is going to be incredible, Makaton is for everyone not just those with a speech delay. If you want to learn something new, try Makaton; it has made a difference in my life and especially the people around me.

Thank you

Love Abigail xxx

Author

Abigail

20th April 2022

Anna at Trusted Travel Buddies completed Makaton training in 2021, having launched the company in 2019. Anna decided to learn Makaton to better enhance the communication of the adults she supports on their chosen holidays.

I first heard about Makaton when I was supporting an adult with learning disabilities who uses Makaton as her preferred method of communication. Shelly was the driving force for me to learn Makaton to better enhance our communication.

In 2021 I completed Levels 1-4 of Makaton. I found the training enjoyable. Special Thanks must go to Hannah Williams Makaton who truly excels at her profession as a Makaton Tutor. Her passion and enthusiasm shines through making the training upbeat and fun.

Trusted Travel Buddies offers bespoke tailormade holidays to adults with additional support needs. Launched in Dec 2019, despite the Pandemic we are delighted to have supported 24 adults away on their chosen holidays. Now that restrictions are hopefully beginning to ease, we are looking forward to a busy summer in 2022 supporting adults with learning disabilities to really live their finest lives.

Trusted Travel Buddies is delighted to be the first business in the Highlands to have been awarded Makaton Friendly Status. Hip hip horray! I would highly recommend adults and businesses to explore the joy of learning Makaton so they can allow Makaton Users to feel welcomed, respected and valued.

Find out more about Becoming a Makaton Friendly Partner

Author

Anna M

25th April 2022

How important is Makaton as part of your family day out?

Claire, Brooklyn and Bella share their day at Alton Towers – March 2022

Planning a day out for the family can be very daunting at times even for families who don’t have to factor in a child with additional needs. Most families just take into account what will make everyone happy and if you have children of different ages this can be very difficult even at the best of times.

Thing I have to think about even before I've left the house include things like Parking. Will there be disabled bays? Even trying to navigate through a car park safely can be stressful, with bags, a disability pushchair, excited children to control. So parking as close as you can from moving vehicles just to keep your children safe is a big factor especially if they have no understanding of danger. Also trying to find a venue with plenty of accessible toilets can also be the deciding factor whether you go or not. There needs to be plenty of room, just the right lighting, changing facilities and appropriate hand dryers. The majority of places don't even think about this, but I can tell you from experience my daughter could be desperate for the toilet but if she hears the new powerful loud hand dryers before we've even stepped into it she cannot even enter the room. Her hands clasp over her ears like she's in pain and she cries. Then I have to think about food. What's available, hot/cold, whether we can eat inside or have to sit outside. Will it have loud music playing, will I be able to manoeuvre around the tables, will the queue be too long when ordering. I've had to walk out of many a place before today as so many triggers have caused a meltdown. So, with all this to plan in the trip all I have to do is find an inclusive venue to entertain ALL the family that ticks all the right boxes.

Well, I found it Alton Towers! Not only does it entertain from very young ages but through to emerging dare devil's and those crazy thrill seekers! I can finally relax here and go at our own pace, because it is that diverse you can pick and choose exactly what you want your day to look like and let's face it any parent/carer with children /adults with additional needs to be able to retreat at some point in the day. But what makes Alton Towers even more special is that the staff can communicate with my daughter. Something that I have never considered planning into the day before as nowhere else has offered this to us before! Unbelievable isn't it!

My daughter is a Makaton user and uses sign to communicate. Bella was born with Down Syndrome and has global development delay. People will ask me what's she saying? As they struggle to understand her. And I have to usually answer for her. So, to watch her have a conversation with the staff is amazing and well for Bella it's everything. You can see how happy she is. Alton Towers have just opened up doors and made a good day even better with the help from Makaton Tutor Amanda Glennon. With just a few basic signs they were able to ask her how she was, was she having a good day, did she like Peter Rabbit and sign back. I am so grateful to them for acknowledging and accepting we are all different and for them learning how to sign. You see it's not about my daughter fitting in society, its about society understanding we are all unique and educating yourself firstly so you can support others.

Brooklyn, Bellas sister has been using Makaton for about 6 years now. Both the girls love to sing and sign. So, to walk around Alton Towers and be greeted in sign and have symbols you can follow it just feels very inclusive. All the family can interact with entertainers, shop staff, guest services. I think they can all use Makaton so it just brings down that barrier of them and you because they can continue to talk with the use of Makaton to support the conversation. Simply the icing on the cake.

Kate McBirnie, head of guest excellence at Alton Towers Resort said: "We want our teams to be able to engage and communicate on all levels. Equipping frontline teams with these skills will help guests feel more included in experiences at the park, particularly young guests visiting CBeebies Land and the CBeebies Hotel”

Makaton Ambassador Amanda Glennon said, “Alton Towers Resort continues to understand the importance of using Makaton in communication and they continues to strive to make their attractions as accessible and inclusive as possible. The entertainments team are front and centre of communication with guests and this training helps them understand Makaton and really get confident with their enhanced communication skills.”

Author

Claire

13th April 2022

Makaton Signing for Babies and Families (MSBF) is for parents, family members or carers who would like to sign with babies and children in their care and have no previous experience of Makaton. These 6 sessions are designed for you and your child to have fun and learn together. 

The sessions are designed to encourage the development of communication and language skills in babies and toddlers. All the sessions are fun and interactive for you and your child. You will learn approximately 100 Makaton signs and symbols using songs, games and activities.

How can I teach this within my community?

You can become an MSBF Trainer and deliver Makaton Signing for Babies and Families to parents, carers and Early Years Professionals and the children in their care.

As a Makaton Trainer, you can now maximise your income by offering freelance training services. Build your own business, on your own terms, at a pace that you decide. Your MSBF sessions can be advertised on the Makaton website.

The MSBF Train the Trainer Course focuses on information giving, signing and activities. It also includes sessions on the delivery of Makaton Signing for Babies and Families , paying particular attention to the format and presentation of sessions, to encourage learning while having fun.

It’s a one day course where you will be required to deliver a session from the Makaton Signing for Babies and Families course.

Prior to applying to become a Makaton Signing for Babies and Families Trainer, you must have attended the following workshops within the last 5 years.

• Makaton Signing for Babies and Families Sessions
• Level 1 and 2 Workshops

To find MSBF courses and MSBF Train the Trainer courses you can search all available workshops here

Published

25th April 2022

Pixie has been using Makaton since 2007, at first attending workshops and using resources on the website. She has then worked through the Makaton Workshops to become a Makaton Signing for Babies and Families Trainer and recently trained to become a Makaton Tutor. Pixie embraces Makaton into her family and work life, enthusiastically encouraging others to the benefits of using Makaton to support.

I first heard about Makaton in a training newsletter from my local council back in 2007. I then completed my first Makaton Workshop when I was working in a pre-school. The other courses I found using your fabulous website, until I met a wonderful tutor Marina Horrocks who really went “above and beyond” in her ongoing support with my training and Makaton use. Marina took me through everything from my Level 3 upwards and wrote my recommendation letter from Tutor Training. I literally couldn’t have got this far without her and will be forever grateful to her for all of her help and support.

On my Tutor Training it was a real pleasure being trained by Tracy Clark and Sarah Howard, and having such a supportive group of fellow trainees! Since then I’ve had the opportunity and felt really privileged to join Zanna Finnerty, Amanda Glennon and Kerry Crawley on Makaton Signing for Babies and Families Study Days, which has been so beneficial for my CPD. They were great fun and I would highly recommend them to other MSB (MSBF) trainers.

I am very eagerly awaiting the Train the Trainer Course for the revised Using Makaton with Singing to enable me to teach this one as a Tutor too. Singing is a huge part of our family and work life here and Singing Hands play a massive role in that – thank you Suzanne and Tracy! As well as being a Makaton Tutor we also use Makaton at home as a family and at work in my Makaton Friendly Early Years setting. My son was born prematurely and having me as a Mummy he was immediately welcomed into a world of Makaton all day, every day, even when the other children I was caring for went home. He first signed “please” at 6 months old when he wanted some pudding! And now at two, he is able to put several signs together and has a huge repertoire of signs. His understanding is phenomenal for his age and I credit this to Makaton signing, as it enabled him to grasp concepts and prepositional language much earlier.

We use signs in general conversation consistently all day. We have taught lots of signs to Daddy, and Grandma is working through her Makaton Signing for Babies and Families course. We also use signs and symbols at story times, singing times, to make choices (particularly at snack and mealtimes) as well as in games and activities. We attend the lovely Tracy’s Singing Hands class on a Wednesday which is just fantastic and my son loves watching their DVD’s and videos on YouTube, they are literal celebrities in our house!

My lovely husband is in the military and, unfortunately, spends a great deal of time away from us. However, Makaton has been an absolute Godsend during these times too. Sometimes, he his completely unreachable, but when he has Wi-Fi we are able to show him new signs and hold two way conversations. When he was younger, it meant my little one was able to use sign to communicate to Daddy, when he had no speech at all, and that was something truly magical to observe. It enabled them to maintain their wonderful relationship even though they were thousands of miles apart.

Makaton has a huge impact on early communication. With 18 years of Early Years experience and a degree in Children’s Learning, Development and Support myself, I can honestly say I wouldn’t be without it. It works absolute wonders in easing frustrations, gives children a voice from so early on and has had such a massive impact on my own child’s levels of understanding. I cannot recommend Makaton highly enough. I would love to get every Early Years setting using it daily and recognising it’s tremendous benefits on children’s early language and communication skills.

If you are thinking about attending Makaton Training I would say absolutely go for it, you will not be disappointed. You cannot put a price on giving someone a voice. Please do remember though that, just like speech, it takes time for users to establish and to persevere with it so don’t give up! Once your user finds their voice with Makaton it will all be worth it.

Author

Pixie N

20th April 2022

The closing date for these vacancies was 18th March 2022.

Do you have passion, interest, and enthusiasm for making a real difference… we could have the perfect opportunity for you! The Makaton Charity is seeking two new Trustees to expand our reach within health and education sectors, help grow our digital membership and to reflect a more diverse set of stakeholders.

The Makaton Charity

Makaton is a language programme that combines signs, symbols, and speech to empower anyone living with learning or communication difficulties to understand and be understood. Makaton has brought positive transformation to millions of lives. 

The board of Trustees is responsible for determining and overseeing the strategic direction of the Charity. The Chief Executive and management team is responsible for implementing the strategy within budget and timetable, and thus meeting the needs of the language programme, Tutors and end Users, now and in the future.

Who we need

We are seeking two new Trustees to us develop and grow our reach, bringing current knowledge and experience through either of the following:

• Health (NHS), social care and/or education sectors. This may be through having a leadership or policy role in a provider setting.

• Expertise in membership and community schemes. Bringing knowledge and experience of successfully scaling up digitally enabled and subscription-based membership communities and schemes.  

If successful, appointed Trustees will offering advice, guidance, and challenge to the evolution of our strategy, contribute fresh views to decision making, and champion our ambition to support and reflect a more diverse set of members and beneficiaries.

The commitment

To play a full role as a charity Trustee you must be committed to attending Board meetings and other committee meetings, as needed. General duties and responsibilities of a Trustee are found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-essential-trustee-what-you-need-to-know-cc3

How do I apply?

The closing date for these vacancies was 18th March 2022.

Published

15th February 2022

The Makaton Charity are delighted to congratulate our Patrons, Suzanne Miell-Ingram and Tracy Upton for their MBE Investiture at Windsor Castle in February. They even managed to teach Prince Charles some Makaton in the process! Suzanne shares their experience...

On New Years’ Day 2021 the two of us discovered that we’d been awarded MBEs in the Queen’s New Years’ Honours List for Services to Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. It was such a surprise and an overwhelmingly positive piece of news after a challenging year under Covid. We were thrilled at being acknowledged for our work over the years spreading awareness about the benefits of using Makaton through songs, stories and games.

It remained a total mystery how the award came about – but in the ensuing weeks our office manager could no longer contain the secret that she’d known about for such a long time. She finally spilled the beans that we’d been nominated by a family who we’d worked with at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The family had contacted Brenda (our office manager) to put them in touch with other Singing Hands families who in turn would contribute numerous supporting letters of recommendation for the application. How everyone kept this secret was baffling as the application and approval process took a full two years.

Obviously, as soon as we found out in January we went straight online and ordered our red outfits, new shoes and fascinators figuring we should stay ‘on brand’ in terms of colour for our ceremony.

The family who nominated us have an amazing little daughter with Down Syndrome and at the time we first met her she was being treated for a rare form of cancer. We visited her every week for months and months in her isolation room and sang and signed with her and her Mummy and Daddy. Despite being so poorly, she was such keen learner – she absorbed everything we taught her and became the most fantastic little signer. Her rendition of the Pirate song was something to behold. If any of you saw our Facebook Post in December 2021, you’ll have seen her signing the Singing Hands version of Boney M’s ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ on stage at her school talent show. Needless to say – she won!

Fast forward to Spring 2022 we finally get sent the date of our investiture – 1st February 2022 at Windsor Castle.

It was such an incredible day. We arrived at the castle in the most beautiful Spring sunshine after a super early start to get our hair & make up done. We were allowed one guest each. I took my daughter Ella and Tracy took her partner Alistair.

It was amazing inside the castle – there was lots of pomp and ceremony with numerous staff in various regimental uniforms and all the guests were in their finery. During the morning, we were led through various state rooms till we came to the main hall for the presentation. We were coached by one of the staff how to approach, address and curtsey to Prince Charles.

We were allowed to go up together (apparently this is very rare) and we were presented with our MBEs by Prince Charles. We curtseyed and signed good morning, he asked us various questions about what we do, how we met, and then we each taught him our favourite signs. As many of you know Tracy’s favourite sign is TERRAPIN and mine is SNAIL. Although these are not going to be terribly useful signs for him at least they will be memorable. We both then signed thank you at the end too. Who knows, maybe he will go and teach these signs to his grandchildren?

After the ceremony, we had official photographs in St George’s Hall (the Gallery which has been completely restored after fire back in 1992). After a bit of time to relax at home in the afternoon, we completed the day with a celebratory dinner in the evening with the rest of our family. It was the perfect end to a fantastic day.

On a final note – although this day was incredible for the two of us, we cannot take the whole credit. We wouldn’t have been at Windsor Castle to collect MBEs, there would be no Singing Hands and Tracy and I wouldn’t have even met had our children Miles and Ella not come into our lives. Because of them, Tracy and I met at a Special Needs Support group in 2000 and that’s how it all began. Their need as little babies and toddlers to learn Makaton through child-centred activities like songs and stories inspired us to set up Singing Hands. They continue to inspire everything we do 22 years later.

With huge thanks to all the Singing Hands families who supported this MBE nomination, for the support of the Makaton Charity over the years and for all the many other families who continue to support everything we do. Thank you!

Suzanne Miell-Ingram MBE

Click here to check out the Singing Hands website

Published

28th February 2022

Makaton for health, wellbeing, relationships and more...

Join us on our first online Safeguarding Workshop, delivered over Zoom on 9th and 16th May from 9am to 5pm by Makaton Ambassador Tutor Richard Fish. Cost is £189 per participant.

The Makaton Safeguarding workshop is designed to support anyone who cares for or works with children and adults with learning and communication difficulties.

Participants must have previously completed Makaton Level 1 and 2 or equivalent.

Click here to search for a Level 1 and/or Level 2 

The workshop is about safeguarding all people with additional communication needs, focusing on topics such as health, wellbeing, hygiene and relationships. The workshop looks at Makaton Users in a person-centred way, to develop their communication skills, make choices, understand what is happening and to meet their needs as effectively as possible. On the workshop you will learn 300 signs and symbols covering the following topics:

• People (family, relationships and people around us)
• Body parts
• Clothing Places
• Time concepts
• Feelings, thoughts and behaviours
• Bullying and abuse Intimate matters

You will receive a Participant’s Manual which includes the signs and symbols that you have learned and you will also be given a certificate of attendance.

Participants go away with ideas and solutions and in turn this has a big impact on young people and adults with communication difficulties, creating an accessible communication environment which empowers Makaton Users to thrive, be safe and engage fully with the world around them.

“An increasingly important and functional course, taught and discussed in a thought-provoking manner. This course has provided me with the tools to support understanding and expression of specific anatomy and actions which are all part of growing up and keeping safe.”

Bethany Whitelam, Speech and Language Therapist, Norwich

“As a parent of a primary school aged daughter attending the Safeguarding Workshop has provided me with lots of useful vocabulary. The workshop offered space for reflection on how I might start to help my daughter express and understand thoughts, feelings and emotions, incredibly useful for being prepared to adapt to her needs in the future.“
Hannah, parent from Lincoln

Book your place today!

Published

28th February 2022

In September 2021 I took part in The Makaton Charity’s MakaHike, Snowdon. This was an activity that was totally out of my comfort zone for so many reasons. Travelling from the Isle of Wight to Wales was a first in itself, regardless of the fact that I hadn’t met any of the participants before. 

In May 2021 I completed my Tutor Training and had passed a week before the Snowdon MakaHike. I had come across different Tutors and names from the ‘Makaton World’ throughout my journey, as well as friends that I had made during my Tutor Training course. To meet these people in ‘real life’ was a moment of success for me and a real ‘I have done this’ moment.

I remember the final car journey towards Snowdon on the morning of the hike and the realisation of how big mountains actually were – we have high hills on the IOW, but not real mountains! The adrenaline was pumping, and I was anxious and excited at the same time. Once I arrived, everyone was incredibly friendly, and I instantly felt safe and welcomed.

Everyone was an equal throughout the whole day, no one was made to feel different or unwelcomed. As we walked up Snowdon, we quickly got to know the people in our groups and hear all about their personal Makaton journey’s. It was very inspiring, and the love of Makaton shone out from us all.

When we arrived at the top feeling very wet, tired, and windswept there was an enormous feeling of family. A family who had conquered a big obstacle together for the same reason. Signing and singing the song together at the top of Mount Snowdon is one of my most precious moments and greatest achievements.

Completing this challenge has impacted the wider parts of my life – the 5 and 6 year olds that I teach at school were inspired and interested in my adventure. This opened up numerous opportunities for them such as writing, create maps, looking at mountains and learning the song with me!

This experience has made me realise that I can do anything I set my mind to, no matter how challenging it may be. It has given me confidence and made me now stand tall in situations that I would have felt inadequate in. It has given me opportunities to meet new friends and learn new skills. It has developed my love for Makaton even more (I didn’t think that was possible!), and it has given me an indescribable feeling that will last forever.

We hadn’t even got to the top when we were already talking about the next MakaHike. Travelling that far and climbing up a mountain with a group of people I did not know is something I would never have done. It has changed my life and I am so proud and thankful that I have been a part of this. Ben Nevis is going to be a hard challenge, but one I know that will be achieved by anyone who participates. With the right people around you and an open mind, anything is possible.

Would you like to take on the MakaHike 2022? Click here to find out more

Jess M
27th February 2022

The March Madness sale ended on 31st March 2022.

March Madness is back and better than ever, with 20% savings on a wide range of Makaton resources until Thursday 31st March 2022.

Simply go to the shop, add one or more resources into your shopping cart, go to the checkout, type the code MM20 in to the promotional code field, and click Apply to get 20% off all eligible products*

The relevant discount will be applied to the total cost of your order.

*Tutor manuals and guidelines are not included in the sale

Published

I have a long history with Makaton, first encountering it as a student around 1984. Working as a primary and then SEN teacher, I used Makaton on a daily basis for the last 20 years of my teaching career.

Having seen the impact it had on the communication skills and confidence of young people, I promoted its use in my final role as the headteacher of a local special school. We also had a successful signing choir made up of pupils and staff from across the school, and even made it to the final of a local choir competition.

My training was outdated, so I completed Levels 1 to 4 in 2020, before taking part in Tutor training in May 2020. I have attended Makaton Signing for Babies, Makaton with Singing, and the Safeguarding Workshop, and I am hoping to become a Safeguarding Trainer this year.

All of the training has been of high quality, and focuses on such a wide range of needs through the breadth of the workshops. The Tutor training also enabled me to make positive contacts within the Makaton community, and through our very supportive Tutor trainee group.

I made the difficult decision to leave education in 2020 to gain a better work-life balance, and to pursue my interests in singing and Makaton. I am completing a course in song therapy, as well as having trained as a Makaton Tutor. I now deliver Makaton workshops, so far online, but hopefully these will become face-to-face soon.

It is exciting to be able to share my enthusiasm for Makaton with others. There are no other tutors in my area and I am very keen to raise the profile of Makaton locally.

To combine my two passions of singing and Makaton, I run online song and sign groups, and am planning to deliver face-to-face song and sign sessions soon. I also make videos for my Makaton Tutor YouTube channel and enjoy the challenge of translating songs into Makaton, and sharing these with others.

Makaton has made a huge difference to the lives of many young people I have worked with, and this was why I wanted to become a Tutor.

I have also found that Makaton has been a powerful tool for emotional support, especially during the pandemic. During the first Covid lockdown, my school used videos, often featuring Makaton signing, as one way of keeping in touch with our families. These had a strong effect on families and staff morale at a difficult time. As well as developing confidence and fluency through signing songs, in my song and sign groups we have been able to use Makaton as a way of keeping in touch during Covid restrictions. The combination of song and signing supports wellbeing, as we focus on songs with a positive message such as friendship and resilience.

Everyone has the right to be able to communicate. You can be part of this. Look on the Makaton Hub and contact your local Tutor.

If you would like to find out more about becoming a Makaton Tutor, please visit How can I teach Makaton 

Author

14th February 2022

I first began my Makaton Journey back in 2012, and now I am a Makaton Tutor and a Training Administrator for the Charity. What a journey it has been!

So, why Makaton? I have always been inspired by Makaton users, to know that I could be a small part of an ever-growing team, that supports over 100,000 children and adults to use Makaton as either their main method of communication, or to support speech, is a privilege.

After completing the Foundation and Enhancement workshops with a supportive Tutor, I took my newfound skills and motivation back with me to the education setting where I worked. There, I began implementing a whole school approach to using Makaton, with signs and symbols to promote inclusion and give consistency for the learners in their chosen form of communication.

After working in education for a number of years, and using Makaton in several different settings around the United Kingdom, to see the invaluable impact that the Makaton Language Programme has to break down extrinsic communication barriers for so many and give people a voice was so rewarding. As it is to witness the diversity of lives for those who use Makaton, including those with English as an Additional Language and those with poor literacy skills, transform.

In the classroom, the benefits of using Makaton were clear. Makaton can support all its users across different establishments, incorporating it into everyday life for children, young people, and adults, due to its flexible, multimodal approach, which can be adapted to suit all learning styles in a fun and interactive way. These positive and life changing experiences for others motivated me to become a Makaton Tutor.

In 2020, during lockdown, through the online training platform I retrained and completed Level 1-4 Makaton workshops, to ensure that once I started on my Tutor training journey that my knowledge of the Makaton Language programme was the best it could be.

As a Tutor, I thoroughly enjoy meeting and working with people, from all backgrounds, who have many different reasons for wanting to learn Makaton, The Makaton Charity, and other Tutors. From supporting people on the first step of their Makaton journey, then continuous support to guide them through the levels, and some who leave training and progress on to become Tutors. For me, representing the Charity and being a Makaton Tutor is such a privilege.

To be able to support Makaton users and other passionate individuals with their training, and hearing inspiring stories from past participants, made me want to immerse myself further in supporting The Makaton Charity, which led me to become a training administrator. A common factor that I have seen across the Makaton family is that everyone works so hard and strives to uphold the core values to improve the lives of those who use Makaton by enabling everyone to successfully communicate in a way that is appropriate and effective for them. Being a part of the Makaton family makes me proud every day.

Leanne's top tip

A great way of incorporating Makaton symbols for some users into a pre-planned teaching activity, is to draw the symbol that you are focusing on into sand or shaving foam. This is a fun way to engage with symbols, while signing the concept and developing fine motor skills.

Author

14th February 2022

Hello, my name is Sam, and I am a Makaton Tutor from London via Scotland. I am originally from Aberdeenshire in Scotland, but I live in London now. I recently got my licence as a Makaton Tutor, and wanted to share my journey to this point.

After I left school, quite a few years ago, I began my professional training in contemporary dance and classical ballet at the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance, Dundee, and went on to complete my studies in Musical Theatre at TTC, Essex.

Since graduating I have been super lucky to have worked around the world performing: it’s my absolute passion. But, parallel to a performing career, I have worked as a consultant in development and producing roles in creative learning, education, and health and wellbeing.

In 2017, I switched gears a little and found the path I really wanted to go down. I found interest in learning and development for children and adults who have severe or complex needs, adverse childhood experiences and trauma. It was through this interest, while back in Scotland for a few years, that I got to really focus on working in this sector.

I started teaching some dance classes in additional support needs schools, just a few hours a week, which quickly turned into a full-time job. Five years later and now I work as a specialist consultant with various organisations. I have worked on creative programmes with local authorities working specifically in SEN/D settings to support students with their learning, and health and well-being. I also support staff with training and implementing the skills I have learned and developed over the years, into their practise, and helping to make the organisations more diverse and inclusive.

Makaton has been a real thread throughout all my work.

I was recently awarded funding from Aberdeen City Council Creative Learning and Creative Scotland to run a project called ‘Singing the Signs; A Community in Harmony’. Students worked through a programme using different ways of communication, such as sign language, song, spoken word, music, and dance.

The end goal is to achieve the ‘Makaton Friendly Award’ with my nominated participating school/host Skene Square Primary in the centre of Aberdeen. This award, on certification, will demonstrate that the young people have created a safe and welcoming environment for those who use Makaton as a communication aid. Participating young people will obtain a new awareness of communication, methodology of creating a fair community and enrich their youthful caring spirit while grasping a unique understanding of the world around them. Five members of the teaching team have completed the Level 1 Makaton Workshop and the rest of the staff have completed the Makaton Taster session.

Now it was time to think about Makaton Tutor Training…

This was something I had been working towards since I was first introduced to Makaton back in 2017. I completed my Level 1 and 2 back in 2018, but before I could sign up to the Tutor Training, I needed to complete my Level 3 and 4. But, I had some personal obstacles to overcome before I could think about this.

In the summer of 2020, I was in an accident and as a result I broke quite a lot of bones. My spine, both feet, ribs and both my wrists in two places. While I recovered in hospital, I was concerned that my future with Makaton would be over. The injuries in my wrists were so severe that I couldn’t use them for weeks. I had to learn how to write again, hold objects – it was tough. But after some time, I could see that I’d be able to get at least 70% function back.

I have lost rotation in my hands which makes some signing difficult, cheese is a hard sign for me, but I am so happy I can do most things now.

I would sit, as part of my rehabilitation mentally and physically, and listen to music and sign along. At first, it was terrible, I couldn’t do any of it, but I kept pushing. My song of choice was ‘Greatest Day’ by Take That. It was a song I had sung with students at Orchard Brae School in Aberdeen for many years, so it brought some happy memories into what was a rather miserable situation.

The benefit of doing this helped me to see a future and made the long days go past a little quicker. It was here that I really understood the joy that Makaton brings into people’s lives. Of course, I have loved adding Makaton into my practise, but it was a part of my job, something I needed to achieve my goals as a practitioner. I never looked at it from a participant’s point of view. Now, more than ever, I appreciate Makaton across the board – and fully relate to the love that participants show it.

I completed my Level 3 and 4 during my time in recovery. I signed up to do these workshops with Ambassador Tutor, Amanda Glennon. Since then, Amanda has been an absolute dream supporting me with my studies, writing my reference letter for my tutor training, and always being on hand to support me personally and professionally. I thoroughly enjoyed the Tutor training. It was all online and I was super lucky to have such a fantastic group of Tutor trainees on the call, alongside our tutors Tracy and Sarah, who took us through the whole programme.

I was a little nervous going into the training as I knew there was a lot to learn, but the week is carefully planned out and a great level of support is always provided. Of course, it was challenging and hard at times, but it was so worth it. I am excited to now be part of the Tutor network, and can’t wait to see where my career progresses with Makaton.

Check out Sam's social media: Instagram / Facebook / YouTube

If you would like to find out more about becoming a Makaton Tutor, please visit How can I teach Makaton 

Author

14th February 2022

The Easter Egg hunt has finished. See you next year!

There are Easter Eggs hidden all over our website!

Search through the pages to see if you can spot them.

Let us know on social media how many you can find.

Published

11th April 2022

Redirected to makaton.org/MakatonMoments

Published

28th January 2022

The closing date for this vacancy was 18th February 2022

We are recruiting! A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a Membership Engagement Officer to support our Makaton membership team with engagement and retention, via connecting with our members.

The key focus of the position will be on generating engaging content within the MakaChat eCommunity and understanding what members needs are through questioning and working with our Ambassador network.

We are looking for a candidate who has good copy writing and proof-reading abilities and will help to plan and manage member events, as well as monitor member feedback and help generate ideas and leads for content. Candidates will be collaborating extensively with our network so must be interested in engaging with and understanding disabilities as well as the wider Makaton user community.

Key skills include excellent problem-solving abilities, an understanding of how to interpret data, flexibility, and a willingness to work with many different groups of people.

For more details about the position and to get a full job description, please contact sarah.parke@makaton.org.

The closing date for this vacancy was 18th February 2022, with a start date as early as possible after 28th February. This is a 6 month, FTC for 21 hours per week (preferably over 3 full days).

See also: Working for us

Published

27th January 2022

As baby, toddler and pre-school community groups return to their new normal, we are very excited to tell you that Bloom Baby Classes have made a commitment for their whole network to achieve Makaton Friendly Status!

Bloom Baby Classes run sensory classes for babies across the UK. Classes support parents by teaching baby play activities that can be replicated at home to support overall development. Now all class leaders make their language visual by using signs and symbols in their classes.

What was the motivation?

Jennifer Ellison, Makaton Tutor and Speech and Language Therapist, has seen how Makaton can open up communication for all children with a range of language needs. As a parent, she has seen Makaton build on language from an age far earlier than expected. Jennifer runs preschool language enrichment sessions with an aim to reach as many families as she can to unlock communication. Her ‘Little Talkers’ sessions consider the social model of disability and aim to help families to recognise the barriers that make life harder for people with communication difficulties.

By using Makaton with lots of families, she hopes that all children will continue to use signs and symbols alongside their speech as they become school-aged. Thus helping those children who rely on Makaton in their everyday talking. By removing these barriers, she aims to create equality and ultimately offer those who are experiencing communication difficulties more independence, choice and control.

How did it all start with Bloom Baby Classes?

During lockdown, Victoria Jennings (Founder of Bloom Baby Classes) set up a ‘Bloom Wellbeing’ parents group on Facebook. The aim of this group was to create a safe space for parents who were stuck at home to seek advice and share information to help support their developing babies. Victoria coordinated sessions from a range of professionals to share information with parents through motivating posts and videos.

Jennifer’s passion to offer Makaton to the wider community was noticed within the group, as she volunteered to run fun, weekly ‘Makaton Monday’ speech and language sessions for the Bloom Wellbeing families. From this, the Bloom love for Makaton took off, and a plan was put together to train all Bloom Baby Class network leaders in all of their locations across the UK!

What to look out for

Bloom class leaders are now using the Makaton Language Programme in many ways! You can look out for them signing:

• Makaton sign of the week
• Weekly focus topics
• Greetings in class
• Now/next instructions between sensory activities
• Weekly songs linking to their topics

You can look out for symbol use within:

• Identification of areas within class e.g. buggy park, shoe space, toilets etc
• Class timeline of activities
• Weekly topic board

For more information search for us on social media:

• Little Talkers Baby/Toddler Signing Club – Jennifer Ellison
• Bloom Baby Classes – Victoria Jennings
• Or visit www.bloombabyclasses.com

Jennifer Ellison
23rd January 2022

Are you looking for a new challenge for 2022?

After the success of the MakaHike 2021, this year we will be taking on Ben Nevis for the MakaHike 2022!

In September 2021, a group of intrepid MakaHikers climbed to the summit of Mount Snowdon in Wales and raised over £12k for The Makaton Charity!

Here's a little taster of the event where there was a 'sing and sign' at the summit of the amazing Singing Hands mash-up of Keep on Movin' / Ain't No Mountain High Enough!

After the success of MakaHike 2021, this year we will be taking on Ben Nevis for the MakaHike 2022! Come and join us to climb Ben Nevis on Saturday 10th September 2022. At the top there will be a Makaton ‘sing and sign’, again led by Suzanne Miell-Ingram from Singing Hands

Standing at 1345m Ben Nevis summit is the highest point in the UK, and about 25% bigger than Mount Snowdon, the journey there and back is 10.5 miles long. Are you ready for the challenge? Cost is £49.00 per person with a minimum fundraising target £150. Email richard.fish@makaton.org for the application form.

Published

15th January 2022

Richard and Abby Young founded Tall Tails Theatre Company in February 2019 in order to make theatre accessible for people in Somerset, the south-west, and for national festivals. They believe that everyone should be able to enjoy theatre and make their shows with that in mind. Tall Tails shows a supportive environment for audiences and artists where individual and collective creativity, imagination and participation are encouraged. 

Upon receiving funding from the Arts Council England Tall Tails Theatre started working with their tutor Sonia Sansom to embed Makaton in their shows. Alongside this training and support they benefited from learning about the needs of Makaton users and how it beautifully supports storytelling for all. 

Tall Tails achieved funding to make a Christmas film in 2020, “What a Superhero Wants For Christmas”. In addition to the temporary shutting of cultural venues and cancellation of many holiday events, the pandemic fast-tracked the nation into a digital world. This spelt an opportunity for Tall Tails Theatre to increase access to the arts by taking proper time and care to embed accessibility. As such, Tall Tails incorporated a wide range of access provision into What a Superhero Wants for Christmas in order to ensure the film could reach all families. It’s captioned, audio describe and Makaton is used by the characters, with disability-friendly, inclusive production, themes and language throughout.

Having brought "The Tale of the Charming Rat" to over 1000 people in 2021, Tall Tails Theatre Company are very excited to be touring “The Adventures of Madame Carol Sell and Mr Popsy” in 2022. Performing at events and venues such as,  Just So Festival, The Cockpit, Stanley Arts Centre, Wilderness Festival, The Black Cherry and The Art Bank. 

Follow them on Facebook and Instagram. Or visit  www.talltailstheatre.com to find out when they are performing near you!

Do you work in an organisation or have visited somewhere that you feel is Makaton Friendly? We have more information for organisations about Becoming a Makaton Friendly Partner. Alternatively, please contact us at help@makaton.org if you would like some more guidance  on how to help an organisation to become Makaton Friendly.

14th January 2022

In 2018, Aged 16 I became the only DJ in the UK to be Makaton Friendly. It was a proud moment, not just being recognised as an inclusive entertainer, but it also raised awareness of the need for entertainers like myself to step up and deliver an equal event experience.

Through my own close bond with my cousin Alice, a Makaton User I had a passion to make my own path and Makaton became a big part of that.

In the 3 years since then I have been blown away with the opportunities that followed this accreditation.

I have supported events for Charities all over the UK, made an appearance on CBBC Newsround and Something Special, and the highlight was meeting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Kensington Palace.

When the pandemic struck it had a devastating impact on the entertainment sector, and I was grateful that I was still able to reach children with learning disabilities/autism with virtual sessions via Zoom. I believe it made visual communication key to performances and this made sure I kept using and developing my use of Makaton.

When my Makaton Friendly license expired in 2020, I was keen to re-apply and found the scheme on hold due to Covid, with plans to relaunch in 2021. As soon as the new Makaton Friendly Scheme was launched, I began my application. I was pleased to find that as I have completed Makaton Level 2 training, I was able to apply for a Silver status.

My Silver status means that I have access to Makaton’s digital library as well as the Makaton Friendly Prompt Cards. Wherever I am I can search a concept on my phone and check the sign and symbol. This helps me include everyone live at the event, which is my number one objective.

I love the Makaton Friendly Map, which provides a way for parents, carers, and Makaton users themselves to find organisations that use Makaton.

You can search by area postcode, say you are going on holiday somewhere and want to plan where to go. A nice new feature is to search by type so if you search DJ you will find currently DJ Jay is the only one in the UK on the map!

I love that Makaton Friendly supports not only Makaton users but also people like me raise awareness of my business and its use of inclusive communication.

Do you work in an organisation or have visited somewhere that you feel is Makaton Friendly? We have more information for organisations about Becoming a Makaton Friendly Partner. Alternatively, please contact us at help@makaton.org if you would like some more guidance  on how to help an organisation to become Makaton Friendly.

Author

Jake Glennon  

7th January 2022

Before The Makaton Charity relaunched their Makaton Friendly Scheme, Nottingham Castle identified that its visitors would benefit from the staff attending further training in Makaton, to support those with additional communication needs.

During the £31 million restoration project of the Castle, the Learning and Visitor Experience Manager contacted me. He advised me that at least one member of staff had been booked onto the Makaton Level 1 workshop and was now looking for an introduction/refresher/Taster for the rest of the team, in the rudiments and principles of Makaton and how it works to support learning for the very young and those with additional needs with their communication.

Naturally I was delighted to be asked to support this project, not just because I am passionate about ensuring communication is accessible for all, but also because I live in Nottingham, I know the Castle very well and I can offer that extra ongoing support. The Learning Manager and I were able to discuss, with two team leaders, the vocabulary that would best suit the learning experiences of their visitors. They wanted to provide a welcome to all of their visitors, by recognising the difficulty that some people might have in such settings. Makaton is such a visual multi modal language programme and has so many benefits, particularly in today’s current climate, with so many wearing face masks which restrict our ability to read lips and facial expressions.

The Makaton Taster workshop includes more than 34 high frequency, functional, everyday signs and symbols as standard, as well as some background, theory and principles of using Makaton. I was able to discuss with the Learning Manager and two team leaders, an extra set of vocabulary that would be specifically relevant to Nottingham Castle. This vocabulary would benefit visitors accessing the shop, castle exhibitions, galleries, activities, and other services offered within the grounds.

With recent Covid-19 restrictions having just been lifted, we were able to arrange safe face-to-face workshops for approximately 40 staff. These staff had roles in many areas, such as the Visitor Experience team, Team Leaders, Volunteers, Explainers and Meet and Greet.

I always strive to make my workshops fun and interactive, and this was no exception. The staff all embraced the elements of the Training session in a very positive manner. They asked appropriate questions, which showed that they were thinking how best to implement Makaton into their specific roles. Each participant had the opportunity to practice their Makaton by “reading” each other’s signing, translating signing sentences from me and making up their own sentences with a given selection of symbols.

After the workshops had finished that day, I had the privilege of being able to wander around the Castle and its grounds, as it hadn’t yet opened to the public. This was a fantastic and quite emotional experience for me. I could see first-hand how much hard work had gone into the renovation project. It was amazing. As I strolled around, I bumped into quite a few of the participants. They all impressed me by signing “hello” and all attempted to sign a full sentence to me, as we passed. I imagined how welcoming and inclusive this would feel as a Makaton user. I know that the confidence they have gained will mean that they will continue using Makaton and hopefully build on their training to become Makaton Friendly.

Since completing the training, I have had an email from staff at Nottingham Castle to say that they have had a lot of positive feedback from visitors who have experienced their use of Makaton.

See also: Nottingham Castle | Andrea Makaton Training

Author

Andrea Patterson

13th January 2022

A massive thank you to everyone who took part in our Countdown to Christmas.

To help you get through the dark days of January we’ve put together a few highlights and outtakes. Enjoy!

Published

10th January 2022