Julia Maugham TinyTalk in Cramlington, has won the Most Outstanding Activity or Class Leader award in the national What's On 4 Little Ones Awards 2009.
The award programme aims to celebrate the best pre-school activities across the UK, as voted fo
r by parents, and to highlight the selfless work of all the people who help run groups across the country.
The judges were especially looking for an activity or class leader that went beyond the remit of their activity as well as being passionate about what they do and why they do it.
Julia Maugham launched TinyTalk Cramlington in September 2007 offering weekly Baby Signing Classes for parents and carers to children under two-years-old.
Mother to three-year-old Rebecca and eight-year-old Daniel, Julia said: "I started to sign with Rebecca when she was six-months-old and by 15-months she had a signing vocabulary of 30 – 40 signs with some of her favourites being milk, more, brother, and duck.
"I really feel that signing has helped us to avoid the frustration many babies feel when they try to communicate but we adults are unable to understand them.
"Signing has also allowed me to gain an insight into what she was thinking or looking at, and at her peak she signed 160 words, but now at three-years-old only uses signs for emphasis or when very upset or tired as her spoken language has completely taken over."
Sam Willoughby, founder of website What's On 4 Little Ones, who helped judge the competition, said: "Julia is obviously well loved by the parents and children for what she does, but with Julie it is so much more than that.
"It's not just what she does but who she is as an individual.
"She's a very special lady who goes the extra mile to support the children and parents outside of their weekly sessions too."
To find out more about TinyTalk Baby Signing Classes contact Julia on 07876 326110 or e-mail
juliam@tinytalk.co.uk