Why Singing And Signing. 

Our aim in to support children and young people in their mental health. There are many ways we can do this, but we have chosen to use singing and sign language. Why?

There is research to show that music is good for our minds - listening to it and singing it.  Singing as a group improves social bonds - helping to build friendships , it exercises the brain - learning new songs and melodies, and it exercises the body -  improving breathing, posture and muscle tension. Singing is a release, the songs can express how we are feeling, and we can learn from the lyrics too. 

Sign language is a skill. It expresses the lyrics in different ways and allows us to look further into the lyric meanings. Learning a new skill encourages positive self esteem. We teach it using songs, so as we listen to a song we learn the lyrics in Makaton, it is an informal way to teach sign language which also gives the young people a sense of achievement, and we love to encourage them in their achievements.