Money for Makaton improves creative communication

The innovative Charitable Trust, the Makaton Vocabulary Development Programme (MVDP), which creates, develops and trains people in its trademarked language programme, has recently been awarded more than half a million pounds by Futurebuilders to support the expansion of its services.

Using a combination of speech, signs from British Sign Language and specially developed and designed symbols, Makaton helps children, young people and adults with communication difficulties to better understand speech and improve their communication skills. Through Makaton, parents and carers, professionals in education and health and the public at large are enabled to interact more effectively with people with communication difficulties. Developed in the 1970s, awareness of Makaton has grown over the years and it is now commonly acknowledged as the foremost programme for those with learning disabilities.

MVDP currently delivers training to more than 19,000 people per year. Popularity of the Makaton Language Programme, facilitated by its use in BBC’s CBeebies ‘Something Special’ television programmes, has resulted in an increased level of demand for its services.

With the help of a £513,000 Futurebuilders investment, MVDP plans over the next three years to expand its delivery of Makaton training and translation to various health, education and social care services nation-wide.

The increased training will allow a greater number of people with learning disabilities to access mainstream services and participate more fully in society, leading to a reduction in the number of people excluded or at risk of exclusion.

Margaret Walker, Designer of Makaton and Director of MVDP, said: “We are very proud of the success the MVDP has achieved, and thank all those who have supported us, including our funders. The Futurebuilders investment will support our move to new premises, fund the recruitment of additional staff, and support the growth of many of our existing services. It will also support the development of new ‘Taster Training’, a basic course aimed at educational and community health sectors and the public at large; and the development of new resources including ‘Makaton for Maths’ and the ‘Makaton Health Communication Pack’. We are looking forward to delivering these new services and continuing to educate people about the benefits of Makaton.”

Richard Gutch, Chief Executive of Futurebuilders England said: “MVDP initially received a £20,000 development grant from us in 2006 to undertake market research for the expansion of their services. We are thrilled that they returned for a full investment and are delighted to be supporting them in the expansion of Makaton training services. MVDP provides a much needed service to a hard-to-reach group, and I have no doubt that our investment in this organisation will help achieve our goal of transforming public services and changing people’s lives for the better.”