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, and 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.
Ellie Whittaker
Qualifications
Licensed Makaton Tutor: Levels 1 -4, 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, that included 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, Safeguarding, 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.