St Peters C of E Primary School | 🤟 Signing our Shine: Makaton Club at St Peter’s 🤟

Nov 20th

Every Wednesday lunchtime, our wonderful and hugely experienced Inclusion Lead and Assistant Headteacher, Mrs Jones, runs the Makaton Club—a fantastic opportunity open to all year groups. The club is ably supported by our Upper Key Stage Two Makaton Leaders, who help younger children learn and practise new signs each week and then share their learning across all classes.

This week, the focus was on colours, and the children had great fun learning how to sign words like red, blue, and green. These sessions are not only enjoyable but also incredibly valuable in promoting inclusive communication across our school. This week children have been learning and sharing the signs for colours.

What is Makaton and Why is it Important?

Makaton is a unique language programme that uses signs and symbols alongside speech to help people communicate. It’s widely used to support children with additional communication needs, but at St Peter’s, we believe it benefits everyone by:

Encouraging understanding and empathy
Supporting language development
Creating a more inclusive school community

How We Use Makaton Across School

Makaton isn’t just for club time—it’s part of our daily life at St Peter’s!

We sign as we welcome each other to worship every day
We sign “thank you” as we move silently around school in whole classes
We use signs in lessons and activities to make communication accessible for all

Curriculum Links

Learning Makaton supports our Communication and Language curriculum by helping children develop listening, speaking, and understanding skills in a multi-sensory way. It also links to Personal, Social and Emotional Development, as children learn empathy and respect for others’ needs. By embedding Makaton across school life, we ensure that every child can Love learning, shine brightly, and feel included in our community.

Follow-Up at Home

If your child is excited about Makaton, here are some ideas to keep learning going:
✅ Ask questions like:

“Can you show me the sign for your favourite colour?”
“Why do you think signing is helpful?”
“Can you teach me one new sign you learned today?”

✅ Explore more Makaton resources:

👉Just click here.

Posted In Clubs & Enrichment, Lets Celebrate

🤟 Signing our Shine: Makaton Club at St Peter’s 🤟

Inclusive Communication, How Makaton Brings Us Together

What is Makaton and Why is it Important?

How We Use Makaton Across School

Curriculum Links

Follow-Up at Home

✅ Explore more Makaton resources:

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