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Children’s Key Word Sign Training – ELC
Designed for Early Learning Services
This page outlines training for Early Learning Services. For training tailored to allied health, schools, families, libraries and other child-focused settings, please click here.
Our Children’s Key Word Sign (CKWS) training is practical, engaging and designed to make signing feel achievable in real everyday settings. We don’t just teach signs, we help educators understand the what, why and how of CKWS, then show them how to use it naturally during routines, play, songs, stories and daily interactions.
Our training is interactive, supportive and full of real-life examples, so teams leave feeling confident, capable and ready to get started. For services already using CKWS, we also offer next-step training, coaching and specialist sessions to help you build confidence, expand vocabulary and embed signing more consistently across your whole service. CKWS is most powerful when it becomes part of everyday culture, not just an occasional strategy.
Explore Our Training Options
Introduction to Children’s Key Word Sign Training
Introduction to Children’s Key Word Sign Training
Ideal for services new to CKWS, new staff, or individual educators
3-hour practical workshop
Learn 100+ essential signs
What, why & how of CKWS
Embedding sign into everyday routines
Lanyard flashcards pp
Click for Information on Introduction to CKWS Training
Coaching and Mentoring
Coaching and Mentoring
For Support and Guidance
Personalised support
Live online or in person
Problem solve real situations
Extend vocabulary & routines
Tailored advice for your team
Click for Information on Coaching and Mentoring
Recap & Expansion
Recap & Expansion
For teams ready for next step
3-hour hands-on session
Refresh Introductory signs & principles
Using signs in songs and stories
Strategies for play & transitions
Strengthen team confidence
Click for Information on Recap & Expansion
Early Maths and Children’s Key Word Sign
Early Maths and CKWS
To use CKWS for Early Maths skills
1.5-hour specialist session
Positional & spatial signs
Research-informed strategies
Strategies for play & transitions
Practical ideas for immediate use
Click for Information on Early Maths and CKWS
Using Children’s Key Word Sign with Emotions
Using CKWS with Emotions
Using sign to help emotion and emotion regulation
1.5-hour specialist session
Feelings vocabulary
Co-regulation strategies
Strategies for play & transitions
Support behaviour & wellbeing
Click for Information on Using CKWS with Emotions
Additional Recommended Resources
Additional Recommended Resources
Practical tools to support confident, consistent signing across your service
All CKWS training includes supportive resources. Find out what other resources you can include to strengthen implementation and engagement.
Click for Information on Additional Recommended Resources
Training Packages
Not sure which training to choose? We’ve made it easy with thoughtfully designed packages to suit every stage
Intermediate
Building confidence – guidance takes you further
Comprehensive
Embedding practice – turn CKWS skills into second nature
Ultimate
Extended impact – Elevate CKWS across every learning space
Click to view our Training Packages brochure
Shared Training Options
We understand that not every service has a large professional development budget or enough staff to justify standalone in-person training.
If you are a small service, part of a local network, or located in a rural or remote area, we encourage shared training arrangements. Services can join together to share training and travel costs, making CKWS training more accessible and affordable. This can work especially well for clusters of small services, community groups, or neighbouring organisations wanting to build inclusive communication practices together.
Travel information
For in-person training, travel costs are additional and are calculated from our main office on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. If you are unsure what this may look like for your location, please get in touch and we can provide a quote or discuss options.
Flexible Availability
We know life in education is busy and free time is limited. To help make training more accessible, we offer a range of delivery times including daytime, evening, weekend and school holiday options. Sessions can be delivered in-person at your service or live online, giving services and educators more flexibility in how they access professional learning.
Community Involvement Matters
Research and experience show that the more signing partners a child has, the greater the opportunity for meaningful communication growth. When sign is used not only by educators, but also by families, carers and wider community members, children have more consistent opportunities to see, understand and use CKWS across different environments.
We encourage services to think broadly about who could be part of their signing community, including relief staff, inclusion support staff, therapists, local libraries, playgroups, grandparents and other community partners.
Not sure where to start?
If you are new to CKWS, our Introductory Training or one of our Package options is the best place to begin. If your team has already completed Introductory training, your next step may be Recap & Expansion, Coaching & Mentoring, Early Maths, Emotions training, or additional resource packs to support consistent implementation.
Still unsure? Contact us, we are happy to help.
E: mail@sunshinesignandsing.com.au
P: 0431335391
