TALKmoreCORNWALL launched in 2018, making Makaton workshops accessible for people in Cornwall. TALKmoreCORNWALL, as a brand name, was chosen because Ellie wanted Cornwall to talk more and believed that Makaton had a key role in making this happen, people with communication difficulties would have a voice and become less socially isolated. Her philosophy was that children who need Makaton grow up to be adults who need Makaton. Ellie believed that Makaton could also help adults who have acquired communication difficulties due to medical issues. This became her dream – to bring Makaton into adult social care settings across Cornwall, as well as making Makaton training accessible in Cornwall.
Saskia, a Speech and Language Therapist with a passion for teaching Makaton, joined her in 2019 and the decision was made to become a CIC so that they could apply for funding to make this dream a reality. Four years later, they offer a wide range of Makaton workshops across Cornwall, online and face to face, including the popular Using Makaton with Singing, Saskia’s favourite workshop and Watch My Needs, Ellie’s favourite workshop, designed for people who have dementia or an acquired language impairment. Eve Facey joined the team in 2024 with a focus on promoting Makaton in early years and primary school settings.
Ellie Whittaker
Saskia Dady
Eve Facey
Ellie Whittaker
Qualifications
Licensed Makaton Tutor: Levels 1 -4, Makaton Approaches in Safeguarding, Watch my Needs, Tasters, Using Makaton with Babies & Families
CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
Education
BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies
Postgraduate Certificate in Education
After 25 years working as an Executive Medical Secretary, and almost 15 years living in Saudi Arabia, I returned to England in 2012 and retrained to become a primary school teacher, completing my NQT year in Kuwait. Being an EAL teacher is a great opportunity for me to combine my language and teaching skills in a unique way. I believe that my experience learning Arabic, as an adult, gives me a unique insight into the difficulties of learning a new language and I use this knowledge to create engaging and fun classes for children.
In 2013, I was introduced to Makaton whilst training to become a teacher. There were no opportunities to learn Makaton in Cornwall and I embarked on a journey to become a tutor, including trips to Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and London. After qualifying as a Makaton tutor in 2018, TALKmoreCORNWALL was born. My goal is to raise the profile of Makaton in Cornwall and to see local businesses, especially adult care homes and social care, and communities become Makaton Friendly.
Saskia Dady
Qualifications
Licensed Makaton Tutor: Levels 1 -4, Makaton Approaches in Safeguarding, Using Makaton with Singing, Watch my Needs, Tasters, Using Makaton with Babies & Families
Education
MSc Speech and Language Therapy
BA Hons Sociology
Registrations
HCPC – Health and Care Professions Council
RCSLT – Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
ASLTIP – Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice
I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) in 1998. I worked for the NHS for five years and gained invaluable experience working in community clinics, in a school for children with profound learning difficulties and then specialising in hearing impairment. In 2004, I started work with the MoD and subsequently SSAFA (a national Forces charity) in Germany; providing speech and language therapy for children whose parents were in the Armed Forces. With the rebasing of the troops from Germany to the UK, my role finished in December 2018. I knew that I wanted to continue with Makaton signing, as it has helped so many of the children that I have worked with over the years; to be able to communicate their needs and support any verbal communication that they had. I initially completed my Makaton training as part of my SLT role in 1999. In order to become a Makaton tutor, I needed to update my skills and retook my Foundation and Enhanced Workshops with Ellie. With her support, I qualified as a Makaton Tutor in June 2019 and have not stopped running workshops since then! Since Covid, many of the workshops have been delivered online, which works really well.
Eve Facey
Qualifications
Licensed Makaton Tutor: Levels 1-4, Tasters
Education
Level 3 Certificate in supporting Teaching and Learning in schools.
Diploma in Special Educational Needs
Diploma in Autism Awareness
I started working with children by volunteering as a parent helper at my children’s primary school for 5 years. My main roles included listening to readers and helping children with writing. I really enjoyed watching the children thrive with support. I qualified as a Level 3 teaching assistant back in 2018 and started a job within Early Years. I became very aware of Makaton whilst working in this role with a child who was nonverbal. Together we learnt Makaton signs and a whole new world was opened. I saw first hand how Makaton helped bring out their speech. I was able to have conversations using signs and symbols. Now the child is reading and writing independently. This made me determined to learn more about Makaton and better my skills to empower those with communication difficulties.
During the start of lockdown 2020 I contacted TALKmoreCORNWALL CIC to enrol in the level 1 workshop. I spoke to Saskia and that’s where my journey started. I undertook my Level 1 with Saskia, I was then hooked! I wanted to learn more and more. I completed all my levels with her.
Once back at school and the world started getting back to normal, I began a Makaton afterschool club. This has grown and grown over the years. I also teach Makaton to the whole of our Reception and Nursery children. We once performed with 70 children to Saskia over zoom. It was a magical moment!