Bridging the access gap in Rochdale with Makaton and BSL workshops

British Sign Language (BSL) and Makaton workshops are being planned by Signs4Life

A new initiative to encourage more people to take up sign language and Makaton as an extra language and skill, will be taking place at Rochdale Central Library.  

British Sign Language (BSL) and Makaton are both visual ways of communicating with people who may have hearing impairments.

Used by approximately 145,000 people in the UK, British Sign Language was recognised as an official minority language in 2003.

Makaton signs are based on the gestures used in British Sign Language, but it is used in conjunction with speech and in English grammatical word order - whereas British Sign Language has its own grammatical structure.

Over 100,000 children and adults use Makaton symbols and signs, either as their main method of communication, or as a way to support speech.

The workshops, to help people to communicate and engage with colleagues and members of the public who may have hearing impairments, will be brought to the borough by organisation Signs4Life, which aims to bring sign language into mainstream society.

Andrea Phillips, Signs4Life programme manager, said: “You never know when you will come into contact with a colleague, a service user, or member of the public who is autistic, deaf or visually impaired.

“There are more than nine million hearing-impaired people registered in the UK. We have already worked with Manchester Jewish Housing Association, Barnardos, Royal Main, and Butlins.”

Local sign language champions ‘Sign Along With Us’ Jade, 19, and Christian Kilduff, five, both of Heywood, have helped publicise the importance of Makaton, which they use to communicate.

Earlier this year, the Sign Along With Us choir, led by Jade and Christian, reached the Britain's Got Talent semi-final after signing to 'This Is Me' from The Greatest Showman.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/133890/sign-along-with-us-move-britains-got-talent-judges-to-tears-as-choir-lands-coveted-golden-buzzer

For more details on the Signs4Life education workshops in Rochdale, contact Insharah Latif on 07964 019 764 or email insharah.latif@signs4life.org.