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Canaan Barrie Sign System

Signing is a very effective way of encouraging a person’s communicative understanding and the understanding of spoken language. Importantly, it provides an accessible means of self-expression.

The Canaan Barrie ‘on body’ signing approach was developed in order to make signing, which is a visual means of communication, both meaningful and relevant to the person with complex support needs through the use of touch and other available senses. The method includes signing ‘in front’, ‘on body’ and ‘hands over.’

Hi all

At the start of this new school year I wanted to introduce myself as I have the pleasure of being the new Chair of the Fairview Parent Council. I am the dad of Sam in class 4 having moved up from England last year. As many of you will have experienced, moving home is a big enough deal on its own but when you have a child with additional needs it is even more scary. Finding Fairview with its wonderful staff and seeing how they welcomed and continue to support Sam convinced me to get involved in the Council.

Ann has done a wonderful job in the Chair role for more years than she cares to remember and I am really grateful that she is still on the Council to keep us (me) on the straight and narrow! The Council is one of our ways as parents and carers to engage with the school leadership outside of the immediate classroom setting, hear about what is coming up and discuss issues of concern or opportunities for improvement. The Council works best when it is a two way, open discussion and we are always keen for parents and carers to come to meetings or to raise issues to discuss. Our first meeting of the year is on 4 September (by Microsoft Teams). If you would like to attend please let me know. The Parent Council email address is Fairviewparentcouncil@gmail.com or you can get in touch via the Fairview generic account (fairview@pkc.gov.uk)

Regards,

Nick ward

Fairview School Parental Communication Policy

Family Engagement Policy Fairview

The sign system was developed at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh.  It is used to communicate with children who have multiple disabilities as well as being visually impaired.

On body signing helps develop a young person’s natural gesture and, in turn, helps them communicate better with their world around them.  Signing also encourages and develops spoken language, giving more meaning to the individual word.

There are universal Canaan Barrie signs but not every child will need every single one of these. Canaan Barrie signs are developed as a relationship between an adult and child grows. Each child’s Canaan Barrie signs are slightly different as they are unique to them.

Sight Scotland is the best place to start-see link below. An illustrated list of signs can be found here: https://shorturl.at/dALP6. You can see videos demonstrating the signs here: https://www.youtube.com/@SightScotland

Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. It supports the development of essential communication skills such as attention and listening, comprehension, memory, recall and organisation of language and expression.

Being able to communicate is one of the most important skills we need in life. Almost everything we do involves communication; everyday tasks such as learning at school, asking for food and drink, sorting out problems, making friends and having fun. These all rely on our ability to communicate with each other.

With Makaton, signs are used, with speech, in spoken word order. This helps provide extra clues about what someone is saying. Using signs can help people who have no speech or whose speech is unclear. Using symbols can help people who have limited speech and those who cannot, or prefer not to sign

(Definition taken from www.makaton.org)

Pain Communication

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