Thank you for stopping by. The Communication Trail is a free event that has been developed by New Siblands School, Thornbury Chamber of Commerce and Better Communication Bristol.
Many of the students who attend New Siblands School in Thornbury face communication difficulties and rely on Makaton to support their communication and understanding. Makaton is a language programme using signs and symbols to help people to communicate. It is designed to support spoken language and the signs and symbols are used with speech, in spoken word order.
Many Makaton signs are gratefully borrowed from British Sign Language (BSL), which is the preferred language of many deaf people in the UK.
Our trail includes BSL signs as well as Makaton symbols and their corresponding sign.
Using the trail maps, which can be collected from Finishing Touches and Thornbury Library, as well as being downloaded by clicking this link (Communication Trail – Entry Sheet – pdf), participants make their way around the town centre of Thornbury looking for the posters that have been displayed in the participating windows. An example of the poster can be seen below.
Each poster displays a word, a corresponding Makaton symbol and a QR code. Some posters are displayed in shop windows and others are hidden in store for you to find.
Write the correct word next to each corresponding number (also displayed on the poster) and once the sheet is completed return it to either Finishing Touches or Thornbury Library by September 6th, and all correct returns will be entered into a prize draw.
Thornbury Chamber of Commerce have very kindly donated the following prizes…
- £25 of Thornbury vouchers for first place
- £15 of Thornbury vouchers for second place
- 3 runners up prizes of £5 of Thornbury vouchers
Scan the QR code with a mobile device and you will be transported to the New Siblands website where you will have the opportunity to watch a video that will teach you how to sign that word. To scan the QR code you will need to download a QR reader from you app store which will be free.
Our hope is that by participating in the Communication Trail you will…
- Have fun enjoying Thornbury
- Develop an understanding of different ways of communicating
- Learn some BSL signs
- Learn how to recognise some Makaton symbols and the signs that match them
- While taking part in the trail look out for some of collection buckets and give what you can
For future reference all videos in the trail can be viewed by clicking on the relevant link below.
