Lauren Macleod is our Communication Champion
At Delamere School, communication is at the heart of everything we do! We use a total communication approach in our school- this means that we use a variety of different methods to enable children to communicate tailored to their needs and abilities.
Our Delamere Communication Champion promotes the importance of communication development for all our children and keeps up the profile of alternative and supported methods of communication such as speaking, signing, symbols or use of electronic communication aids.
As a Rights Respecting School we firmly believe that every child’s voice should be heard.
We also try to gain recognition for different methods of communication in the wider community - we do this through social media, performances, inclusion projects, competitions and much more!
Please see below guidance for our communication support for parents. This might be helpful if you have queries or concerns about your child's communication development and how you can help support your child at home.
At Delamere, communication is at the heart of everything we do! Even saying hello to our friends is an opportunity to practise communication and to have our voices heard. We can choose who we want to say hello to and how we do it! The boys used PODD mats to say they wanted to sing hello and shake hands- great work Joseph and Dante.
At Delamere, we adopt a total communication approach - we use a range of different methods to ensure every child's voice is heard. Have a look at how Adam uses speech, signing and his communication device during a game of Pop-Up Pirate! Games offer fantastic opportunities to communicate whilst having lots of fun!
Look how confidently Ivy-Rose can use TD Snap to make a request using a full sentence! She is able to independently navigate through different pages to access vocabulary and is beginning to use the app to communicate for a wider range of functions. Our total communication approach means that we use a wide range of strategies suited to each individual child- for Ivy-Rose this includes signing, vocalising, and using alternative communication in the form of the TD Snap app.
Please contact us if you'd like some more information on this form of communication support.
This academic year, singing songs with Saimon has had a big impact on his eye contact, initiating interaction and attention and listening. Saimon now independently requests 'Ring-a-ring-o'roses' by imitating the sneezing sound from the song and holding hands with an adult!
Why not have a go at some of the top tips attached below?>
Article 12 (UNCRC)- the right to have your views, feelings and wishes taken seriously
If a child doesn't use words to communicate it doesn't mean that they can't show us what they might want, like or need! Here, Huzaifa is showing that he is enjoying the interaction. He begun by noticing that the adult was mirroring his actions then moved onto moving their hands to clap/bang on the floor. After a while, he then initiated an interaction by pulling the adult's hands towards him.
Gabriel has been working well on his communication skills! He has been using full sentences to request help and say which activity he'd like to do - have a look at him opening the marble jar which was tightly closed. He said "I want marbles" "Lauren, I want help"
He also used an app to match flashcards of animals to animals in a story- the app named the animals in Gabriel's home language, Polish, which he repeated and then enjoyed making the animal noises!
Why not have a look at the different languages on the app?
What a special day for Delamere School! We had a graduation ceremony for our very first children to gain a qualification in Signalong and we couldn't be prouder! Aden and Xander have worked so hard to promote the use of signing around school and in the wider community via social media. The boys were joined by their families via Zoom as we shared this special celebration together. After the ceremony Emile asked if he could start the qualification next year- well done boys, not only are you great at signing but you're both fantastic role models for your friends too!
We're so lucky that Towngate Farm in Flixton have welcomed us to their farm on our educational visits. So far, lots of classes have visited and have had a great time! Our Signalong Champions have decided to teach the people down at the farm some animal signs so they can practise with us next time we visit!
To get their Signalong Qualification, the Signalong Champions must show that they can recognise signs as well as perform them. We do this in lots of different ways! Zain uses symbols to show he understands the signs he's being shown, Damaris likes to play matching pairs whilst signing what she's found, and Aden's favourite is 'voice in my pocket' where we pretend to put our voices away and guess the signs! Xander was really proud of his work and wanted to show everyone how many ticks he had on his signing record sheet!
Have a look at our Signalong Champions showing you what you can expect when you go for an appointment. Sometimes we can feel worried about going to new places or seeing new people. This video might help you understand what might happen and who can help you.
Our wonderful Personal Support Workers have recently attended some Signalong training. We had some special guest trainers- some of our children who are working towards their Signalong qualification! They stood at the front of the group and taught them how to sign 'sit down', 'help' and 'toilet' then signed 'thank you' when they were leaving. We're so proud of your confidence and talent in sharing this great skill with others!
We had a very special day for our signing choir and our adopted care home De Brook Lodge. We would normally pay the residents a visit and show them some of our favourite Christmas songs but this year we decided to do a virtual performance...and what a performance it was! We had lights, costumes, musical instruments, and lots and lots of fun! The residents enjoyed our performance and we could see smiles and waving. At the end we all sung Jingle Bells together- what a special afternoon for us all. Kenzi said "'I'm so happy" and Max said "this is awesome!" Thank you for being such a lovely audience De Brook Lodge residents- we will see you virtually in the new year!
Have a look at these top tips for supporting your child's communication! Why not focus on one of these strategies each week and see if you notice any difference in communication, interaction and engagement?
