Makaton
Our Makaton Journey at Lessness Heath
At Lessness Heath, we are proud to be a forward-thinking, vibrant school that is always looking for new ways to support inclusivity and ensure accessibility for every pupil. As each new cohort of children arrives, we see more and more students who require speech and language support. This has driven us to embark on our exciting Makaton journey, ensuring communication is enhanced for all.
Makaton is a powerful communication tool widely used in schools to help children develop their language, communication, and literacy skills. It supports all learners—regardless of whether they have speech difficulties—by helping them communicate more effectively, promoting inclusion, and allowing them to learn and play together seamlessly.
Our Makaton journey began in 2023, when a large number of our staff completed Makaton Level 1 certificates. We began by introducing simple signs during registration, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. It became clear that Makaton would bring great benefits to our school community. To further this initiative, we appointed a Makaton Lead for the following academic year, who is trained in Makaton up to Level 4.
We began with foundational signs, such as greetings like "Good Morning" and "Good Afternoon," and practical signs like "Packed Lunch" and "School Lunch." In our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the children sing and sign their “Good Morning” song and “Days of the Week” song as part of their daily calendar during morning registration. From there, we expanded to include school-related vocabulary. We also have days of the week and months of the year in Makaton and displayed in all classes.
Once the basics were successfully integrated, we looked at how Makaton could be used across the curriculum. One of the first areas we focused on was our Talk for Writing approach, where we introduced Makaton signs for Pie Corbett's conjunctions and key characters. This has had a profound impact across all year groups, particularly in EYFS, where Makaton has been shown to support story recall. Older year groups have also enjoyed expanding their Makaton vocabulary and integrating it into their learning.
In Summer 2 of 2024, the children enjoyed a fun new challenge—learning to finger-spell. They became "code breakers," using Makaton signs for the alphabet to crack codes around the school, sparking curiosity and a love for language!
At the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, we updated our school’s behaviour policy. To help students and staff embrace the new policy, we introduced Makaton signs for expectations and used sentence stems to help manage behaviour. By adding Makaton to these routines, we ensured that everyone—staff and pupils alike—understood and embraced the new changes.
Makaton Sign of the Week
To further support Makaton learning, we launched our weekly “Sign of the Week” program. Makaton Ambassadors from Years 2–6 meet regularly to practice new signs, and together, they create a video for our school's Facebook page. This allows us to share our learning with the wider community and encourages families to practice at home, reinforcing Makaton in a fun, engaging way.
We have even come together with other schools within the trust schools to produce Makaton signed Christmas songs.
Makaton Club
In addition, we run an after-school Makaton club twice a year, each lasting a term. In the Autumn, children practice singing and signing Christmas songs, and in the Spring, they do the same for Easter songs. These performances are shared with the Smerdon Day Centre, a local community hub for adults with learning disabilities who also use Makaton. We send the songs and signs in advance, so everyone can join in the fun! The children also enjoy visiting local care homes such as Flaxan Court and Hayley House to perform and interact with residents, sharing their Makaton skills with the wider community.
Special Events
Makaton has also become a key part of our special school events. When the Mayor of Bexley visited to open our new Science Garden, supported by local Masons, the entire school sang and signed “What a Wonderful World” as part of the celebration. It was an unforgettable moment that showcased the power of Makaton in uniting our school.
During our Christmas performances, our EYFS children also signed all of the Christmas songs they performed, making Makaton an integral part of our school culture.
These events have shown us that children pick up Makaton especially quickly through song, which is a fun, accessible way to introduce the language to families and the wider community. While not every child requires Makaton support, learning it is like learning a new language, and it's a wonderful way for everyone to be able to communicate. The children and staff at Lessness are united in our commitment to ensure that every voice is heard. By embracing Makaton across the whole school—regardless of need—we are creating a truly inclusive environment for all.