The Yard support children and young adults from 0-26 years, with a range of communication needs. They support PECS, Boardmaker, Signalong, and vocal communication. They provide support to disabled children and young people throughout Scotland through their play centres, family support offering, and school sessions.
Signalong was introduced to help support communication for the children, young adults, and families that visit The Yard.
About The Yard
The Yard offers children a safe and inclusive place to play, learn, and grow. It’s a hub for families of disabled children and young people and offers support, connection and a place to belong. They have four centres across Scotland in Edinburgh, Fife, Dundee and Glasgow and offer taster sessions to those new to The Yard.
The staff at The Yard are highly trained to support every child’s abilities. Some of the services you can find across the four sites include sensory rooms, water play areas, go karts and bikes, arts and crafts and more. The Yard also have dedicated Family Support Officers at each of their play centres, offering support to every family that visits whenever they need it and for however long they need it.
School Visits
The Yard offers school sessions during term-time where students from special schools, speech and language therapy, and mainstream schools can attend play sessions. The experienced play team create a fun environment where students can explore, learn, and connect through tailored activities for the group.
The Yard and Signalong
When asked what challenges they faced before introducing Signalong, Helen Bonnar, Signalong Tutor at The Yard said: “Before I learnt about Signalong, I identified that although I was still able to communicate with our young people through play, I knew that I would be able to support better inclusion and support by learning Signalong.”
The Yard wants to support its staff to learn Signalong to better communicate with their young people and families that visit the centres. As a Tutor, Helen not only delivers workshops to her colleagues but also to organisations outside of The Yard. She added: “I find that using Signalong can help communicate with our families, school users and other young people. I also find it extremely useful because I am able to teach our families signs as well when they ask so that we are working on a supportive community for our children.”
When asked if Helen would recommend Signalong she commented: “I would definitely recommend Signalong as it can support inclusivity and help to give our children a voice.”