Makaton-friendly communities are now being established in the UK, with the first springing up in 2018 in Romsey, Hampshire, where 30 organisations were trained in signing. Childminder Mel Negus wants Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire to follow suit. ‘I read that three towns have become Makaton-friendly,’ she says. ‘I thought we could be one of them. How wonderful it would be to be a town where all early years settings are [Makaton-friendly].’
Ms Negus, network cluster lead practitioner for Whittlesey and District Childminding Network, is taking the first step towards this ambition, using funding from Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area’s Early Years Improvement Fund. Childminders, nurseries, libraries and other community settings are working together to create interventions aimed at improving children’s communication, language and literacy skills.
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