Published:

Money for Makaton improves creative communication

People with learning disabilities will benefit from increased opportunities to improve their communications skills, thanks to a recent investment from Futurebuilders England.

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."

Ends.

For media enquiries, please contact Jayna Danckert at Futurebuilders England on 0207 927 6346, or Richard Price at Say Communications (representative of MVDP) on 020 8971 6420.

Notes to editor:

About Makaton Vocabulary Development Project (MVDP)

MVDP is an unincorporated association that was established in 1978 and became a charity in 1983. By the end of December 2007 the MVDP will become The Makaton Charity, an Incorporated Charity limited by Guarantee. Makaton is its trademarked language programme that was originally developed from Margaret Walker's research into signing for people with learning disabilities. The programme uses a combination of speech, signs from British Sign Language and specially developed and designed symbols.

Makaton symbols and signs are used with speech, the written word or on their own. They provide a visual representation of language which increases understanding and makes expressive communication easier.

A core vocabulary provides a small nucleus of basic concepts essential to everyday life, presented in stages of increasing complexity. This core vocabulary is introduced to users first and is the foundation of the programme. A resource vocabulary is used as a large topic-based resource of additional signs and symbols, which can be added, as required, to the core vocabulary. Unlike the concepts in the core vocabulary, which provide a common foundation for most users, the significance of the various topics will vary from one user to another according to their age, lifestyle, experience and interests. The resource vocabulary is produced in sets so that users can select those parts that are relevant to them.

Training forms an essential part of the Makaton Programme. Participants on Makaton training are encouraged to develop their visual communication skills and are enabled to use the signs and symbols as appropriate for the varying needs of children and adults with communication and/or learning disabilities.

The Futurebuilders investment will help fund the recruitment of several new members of staff to allow MVDP to expand its service delivery and sales over the next three years.

The investment will support the growth of existing services, including extended training and workshops; improved resources and products; further development of IT, marketing, and financial systems; and the introduction of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

About Futurebuilders England

Futurebuilders England is a unique £150m government-backed fund offering support and investment to third sector organisations to deliver public services.

We offer a combination of loans, grants and professional support to build the capacity of third sector organisations who want to deliver better public services. Most organisations have never borrowed before, so we provide sustained, flexible and individual support to ensure our investees have the right financial, managerial and governance structures to take on a loan and successfully compete for contracts in the public sector.

Since 2004 Futurebuilders has offered more than £110 million in investments to over 238 organisations.

Futurebuilders invested £513,000 in Makaton. This comprises a £400,000 loan; a £73,000 revenue grant; a £20,000 capacity building grant; and a £20,000 development grant.

For further information visit www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk

Tags: HELTHCAR

_ _

Is your favorite bookmark site missing? Ask for it.

NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

TECHNOLOGY

NEWSPAPERS

Money for Makaton improves creative communication