New Life Nursery is the first preschool in Congleton to receive Makaton Friendly status.
We have a little boy who has Down’s Syndrome and using Makaton with him was really where our Makaton journey began.
At New Life Nursery all staff have received Makaton taster training
and we have one fully trained practitioner who helps the whole staff
team develop their signing.
It
was tricky at first trying to learn and remember new signs. Signs
around the nursery including the kitchen cupboards help to prompt us.
Our children are excited to ask for their drinks at snack time by
signing and we sign our snack time song and end of day song too. We are
starting to see the children use signs during play when asking for help
or encouraging each other to share.
Using Makaton on a daily basis means that our nursery is accessible
to everyone, including children and/or their families who find
communication difficult for whatever reason. We are very proud to have
been recognised as Makaton Friendly.
Callum’s
mum, Tina, says “I’m really pleased that the nursery has taken the time
to all learn something that will benefit my son and others. It stops
him becoming frustrated when he can’t express himself.”
We are very grateful to Cheshire Down’s Syndrome Support group for training, supporting and encouraging our staff.
We would encourage anyone thinking of learning Makaton to have a go.
It can make such a difference to anyone who finds communication tricky.