Makaton
We are very proud to be in the process of becoming an officially recognised ‘Makaton Friendly’ school, having introduced Makaton in 2018.
All teachers and TAs have received a series of training from a Regional Makaton Tutor.
Staff and pupils alike have responded superbly to the use of Makaton and can be seen signing throughout the school. We have found that it has helped to remove some of the barriers and frustrations experienced by those pupils who have difficulties communicating and all pupils seem to really enjoy signing.
Each week, we introduce new signs for the whole school community to learn.
There is at least one Makaton Ambassadors in every class and their role is to promote the use of Makaton and help their classmates to learn the weekly signs. They can be identified by the smart yellow shield badges they wear.
Children can also nominate members of staff to become Makaton Ambassadors if they spot them using signs particularly well!
Classes who make special efforts to practise using Makaton can be nominated for the ‘Makaton Ambassadors of the Week’ (one from Early Years / Key Stage 1 and the other from Key Stage 2). They will be presented with a shield during the Celebration assembly which they can proudly display on their classroom door for everyone to see.
During assemblies, we regularly sing and sign as we enter and exit the hall.
Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate.
Being able to communicate is one of the most important skills we need in life. Almost everything we do involves communication; everyday tasks such as learning at school, asking for food and drink, sorting out problems, making friends and having fun. These all rely on our ability to communicate with each other.
With Makaton, signs are used, with speech, in spoken word order. This helps provide extra clues about what someone is saying.
Makaton is regularly used in mainstream schools, to support all children to develop communication, language and literacy skills. It also supports integration, as children with and without language difficulties can communicate with each other, learn and play together more easily.
Find out more by following this link: https://www.makaton.org/aboutMakaton/