One half term while taking his children to follow the Scarecrow Trail
around the town of Thornbury, class teacher Craig Tucker wondered if
his school were to organise a trail around the town, what sort of trail
would it be. The answer was obvious : A Communication Trail.
Craig’s enthusiasm was infectious and I was on board with helping the
moment he asked. Our hope was that by participating in the
Communication Trail people would:
- Have fun enjoying Thornbury
- Develop an understanding of different ways of communicating
- Learn how to recognise some Makaton symbols and the signs that match them
- Learn some British Sign Language
Around 40 posters were displayed in shops and other organisations
around the town. Each poster had a Makaton symbol, a fact about either
Makaton or BSL, and a QR code. When scanned the QR code linked to a
video demonstration of the Makaton sign and a link to watch a BSL
equivalent - thanks to www.signbsl.com
Some familiar faces helped with the Makaton sign videos - Suzanne and
Tracey from Singing Hands, Dave Benson Phillips and Gym Stars from the
BBC all took part, so a big shout of thanks to them too!
The trail has attracted a lot of interest amongst the public, with
lots of mainstream school children taking part, learning about different
ways of communication, picking up some signs.
With our bid to make Thornbury a Makaton Friendly Town alongside
community interest group ‘Thornbury Welcomes’ this has been a fantastic
way to raise awareness and generate interest amongst business owners in
the town and we anticipate this will encourage them to sign up to the
scheme.
We have enjoyed ourselves so much that we are already planning a
trail in time for Christmas! Thanks to everyone who has supported and
encouraged us with this project.