“Helen was a fantastic tutor. She made the sessions engaging and inclusive, ensuring that everyone felt confident and able to participate.”
Teacher  June 2023

"I  would just like to say thank you for a very interesting and engaging workshop. I very much enjoyed every session, the group and yourself were very friendly and I really feel I have learned a lot that I can now share with others.
Teacher- May 2022

"I would like to say thank you for the Makaton training, we really enjoyed it.   We now are more confident in communicating with our service users.   It really was not only interesting but delivered so well by yourself.   Thank you."
Registered Manager- Learning Disability, Residential Service - May 2022

“Thank you so much for your time and your amazing Makaton tuition this week. All the staff have been raving about how well you facilitated the sessions and how much they have learned. We can’t wait to put it into practice.”
Deputy Manager, Children’s home - February 2022  

"Excellent training delivered in a friendly way, offered lots of opportunity to practise in the group and in pairs"
Teacher - November 2021

"Very well run, when we did run into technical issues via wifi, Helen remained calm and waited for the issue to resolve and then recapped bits that had been missed.  Helen is a very competent tutor"
Teacher - November 2021

“Helen deliverd the online training confidently and created an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere, even in Zoom!"
Freelance Multi-Sensory Artist - July 2021

"The training was excellent and worked well on Zoom.  The use of breakout rooms was really good as was the small number of participants.  The mixture of short talks and practical sessions helped the flow of the session really well."
Speech and Langiuage Therapist - November 2021

"Very informative and well presented.  Felt comfortable in asking questions , with help if unsure of anything."
Teachiung Assistant - September 2021

"I thoroughly enjoyed the training.  I thought the content was relatable to our setting, I can now see staff using Makaton in school daily, and I know our children will really benefit from our enhanced communication methods."
Special Educational Co-ordinator - April 2021

Helen is a great teacher and she has really improved my signing and accuracy “  
(Family Learning Tutor  - October 2020) 

“Training was very well delivered considering it was via teams due to lockdown measures. I thought it was made fun and enjoyable and involved everyone on the course. 
(Special Needs Support Assistant - June 2020)

“Helen is a great Tutor
(Parent - October 2020)

“ It was a great opportunity to learn Makaton. Helen was a great tutor, very patient with us all and made sure we were all happy and confident before continuing onto the next section. I'd recommend the course to the rest of my team. 
(Community and Events Fundraiser -  September 2020)

“ It was an excellent session, unfortunately due to the circumstances it had to be delivered on line. However, Helen was excellent in how she checked all participants understood and could do the sign accurately. 
(Specialist Teacher/District SENCO - September 2020)

“Fantastic two days with a brilliant trainer. Very encouraging “ 
(Face to Face training - Dental Nurse - September 2020)

“All staff found the training invaluable - both equipping them with practicable knowledge and understanding - as well as the confidence to begin to embed it within their practice either a class teacher, learning support assistant or 1:1 practitioner.  
(Inhouse Level 1 Training - Early Years Team October 2020) 

“ The training was excellent; Helen was a brilliant tutor and she made the sessions motivating and fun. She was calm, approachable and extremely pleasant. I would recommend her training highly!
(Teacher/Senco - Makaton Taster - October 2020)

“Helen provided a really enjoyable workshop which was engaging and interactive. It was well balanced between informative and practical content. Helen was understanding of our varying roles and pitched her teaching accordingly, personalising the course.
(Team Leader - Support work for children with disabilities- Charity - October 2020)

“Thanks again for all your help with regards to these courses. They are fantastic and have really improved our practice with the young people we work with.“
(Assistant Unit Manager, Nottingham 2016)

“The word “ education” literally means “ to draw out” someone’s potential. This tutor did this masterfully, drawing out the best in each individual. Thank you very much!”
( Beginners workshop 2016)

“This was an excellent and inspiring workshop! I had come to help deliver signs in songs…., however I would now think about applying its multi-modal approach to my general music teaching from Early Years to Year 6.”
( Teacher following Foundation workshop February 2016)

“I really enjoyed the course and felt that I learnt loads! I think the lessons were delivered really well and I felt so confident with the signs after such a short time that I feel that they'll really stay with me. I particularly appreciate how you worked with each of us individually to ensure we were able and aware of how to use the signs and symbols for our own individual purposes. Thank you very much again.”
( Beginners workshop Stockport December 2015)

“Many thanks for an excellent Makaton session on Monday. I can’t remember a course that captivated the entire team so completely. You took us up a notch. Brilliant!
( In-house Beginners workshop Nottingham City Council. December 2015)

“Since being on the Foundation workshop in November, it has given me the confidence to be stronger with my signing.   From September , I was put in the children's room ages 1 to 2 years old at the nursery. Through using Makaton and preparing my own Makaton group sessions within the classroom, the nursery are now allowing me to come in to provide a Makaton group session to the children.”
( Nursery nurse 2014)

 “I would like to thank you for an excellent experience over the two days. I am getting plenty of opportunity to use many of the signs covered in the sessions. I have had a formal observation since the training course and I was commended on the use of signs and how well it engaged the learners in the lesson. I am overjoyed at how much information the students are retaining over the weeks and I am sure the use of signing is helping this. A member of staff said I make it so clear when I introduced new signs – something I have learnt from your excellent example. I am sure when I have more time next year I will want to continue with Makaton training to a higher level.”
( Trainee teacher on placement in Special Needs school)

“ Helen’s standard of teaching is at a very high quality. I will recommend more training in my setting. Thank you for supporting me with my learning”
( Teaching assistant 2014)

“I just wanted to let you know that 7 of our cohort plus 1 second year student attended the Makaton Taster course today and that it was fabulous.
 Helen Adams is an excellent tutor and supported us all really well with the signs covered.  She has even offered to run an additional two-day foundation course in the summer holidays at Abacus in Stockport, subject to room availability.”
(Third year Primary Education Undergraduate Manchester Metropolitan University June 2014)

“Fantastic course. Helen is a great trainer. The course was well presented and Helen made the content relevant to working practice”
(Speech and Language Therapist, Nottingham 2014)

“Truly excellent! Helen has engaged me from the first second we started and has been an excellent teacher. I feel so much more confident and able to start communicating with my daughter. I have a much greater understanding of how Makaton will help her to communicate and understand. I am so grateful and will definitely be booking on the Follow-up!!
(Parent following Beginners workshop March 2014)

“ This course has been amazing and I wish I had known Makaton a lot of years ago. Helen is a lovely lady and very easy to talk to and understand. I have got loads out of the course and very interested in next course”
(Parent following Beginners workshop March 2014)

"A hugely successful training experience which everyone has thoroughly enjoyed – thanks a million!”
(Primary School Headteacher , Stockport, following an in-house Enhancement workshop , December 2013)

“The teachers really enjoyed the session you did at school and got a lot out of it. In fact my Reception class are singing Silent Night using Makaton in their Christmas play!”
(Primary School Headteacher, Nottingham following an in-house Makaton Taster session, November 2013)

“Hi Helen I just wanted to let you know how useful I found the course yesterday. I went home buzzing about all the new signs that I had learnt. I have also started using them in my session today”
(Childrens Centre Teacher, The Meadows Children's Centre)

“I have found this course not only beneficial but extremely interesting. It is refreshing to be taught by an animated and enthusiastic tutor who is passionate about what they teach. This has been passed on to myself and I am excited to use Makaton in my setting immediately!”
(Nursery Nurse and Speech and Language Intervention Practitioner)

“I was really worried about having to speak in front of a group of strangers but you made me feel comfortable and confident – thank you”
(Student)

“Many thanks for all the wonderful tutoring, it has been really life changing in a positive way!"
(Parent who hopes to go on to become a Local Makaton Tutor)

“I felt quite inspired by the training last week (and I know speaking to John’s wife that he got loads from the day too!)   I am genuinely looking forward to day 2 on Friday and more of the same….."
(Musician who attended Foundation workshop with the father of a child with communication difficulties)


“It has made my job as a key worker much easier and hopefully I can now start to help our young people develop further too”
(Residential Key worker )

“Hi Helen, I just wanted to thank you for the fantastic workshop yesterday. I was totally exhausted by the end but I felt really excited by the amount I’d learnt and the possibilities for using it.”
(Student on Health and Social Care degree course)

"We asked Helen for help when our son was experiencing delayed speech development in terms of the formation of certain sounds. I would not hesitate to recommend her skills. Helen has a calm and professional approach and has been excellent at maintaining his attention in sessions. She has put a huge amount of effort into providing him with interesting and bespoke activities for each session which have, in turn, maintained our focus and interest in assisting him. Consequently, we are delighted with the results, his speech has developed and he has become more confident."
(Parent)

“The training will provide me with ideas to discuss with the LSA and structure a programme for specific children”
(SENCO)