The Ministry for Social Services, Ministry for Health and the Ministry for Education have been working together to bring about the delivery of a beginner’s Makaton course. The Makaton language is a multimodal approach to teaching a combination of speech, signs and graphic symbols specifically designed to provide a means of communication to people who cannot communicate efficiently by speaking.

This family-friendly vocabulary course has been organised following recent representations from parents of children who attend St Martin’s School to the Minister for Equality and Social Services, Samantha Sacramento.

The workshops will provide an introduction to signing for those who need to use Makaton with their children. The course, which has been organised by the Government, is free of charge for the parents and will commence on the 13th February and will run for three weeks. Ms. Rachel Bear, Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist/Makaton regional tutor will be delivering the course.

Minister Sacramento stated, ‘the need for this course was identified as a result of consultation with the St Martin’s School parents’ association, Little Smiles. It is a basic necessity for parents to understand a language that their children are taught in school, a fact that has previously been overlooked. This course came about because of our Government’s open door policy and its willingness to engage with stakeholders. Credit must also be given to the various Government departments who have worked together so seamlessly to make this a reality.’