Children signing way to first for playgroup
Makaton friendly
Cambusbarron Playgroup has become the first in Stirling to be awarded ‘Makaton Friendly’ status.
Makaton is a system of signing and symbols to aid communication, developed originally to aid children with disabilities.
Jane Bain took over at the small community playgroup as lead practitioner last September.
Her interest in Makaton goes back many years but she only undertook formal foundation training last year when she completed an honours degree in childhood practice.
“Makaton’s rationale and ethos resonated with what I had studied about children’s learning and development.” she said. “It seems obvious that communicating information orally and visually enhances learning.”
Although Makaton had been in use before at playgroup it is now much more embedded in its daily routines.
Jane added: “Our children love signing. We sign our names at welcome time and parents, staff and children all learn the sign of the week and promote it more widely within our community.
“Last Christmas we learned how to sign carols and went carol singing and signing in a supermarket. We have received very positive feedback from parents and it’s rewarding to hear reports of children teaching their parents and siblings how to sign.
“We have created our own electronic dictionary of the Makaton signs we know. The children love taking videos of each other demonstrating the signs. We have recently asked family and community members to submit videos of them signing too. We aim to include more people in the community and make our dictionary a real village resource. The learning achieved by the children in this project is significant.”