British Deaf Association
  • ABOUT US
      • BDA Manifesto
      • What we stand for
      • Our Work
      • Board
      • Strategic Vision
      • Management Team
      • What the BDA means to you
      • History
      • Annual Reviews
  • WHAT WE DO
    • SIGN LANGUAGE
      • BSL in GCSE
      • BSL Act Now! Campaign
      • Legal Status for BSL
      • Our work in Government
      • BSL Facts & Resources
      • Research & Consultations
      • Sign Language Week
      • National BSL Day
    • OUR PROJECTS
      • Community Development
      • BSL Charter
      • Deaf Roots & Pride
      • Family Sign in the Home
      • Signs of our times
      • Advocacy Service
      • Heritage
      • Dementia Toolkit
      • Dementia Research
      • England Loneliness Project
    • VIDEO INFORMATION IN BSL
      • COVID-19
      • Family Sign at Home
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Hate Crime Prevention (Scotland)
      • Derbyshire Crime Project
      • Leicestershire Deaf Forum COVID-19 Project
      • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
      • Access to Justice
  • NEWS & EVENTS
    • NEWS
      • All News
      • England
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • EVENTS
      • BSL Conference 2025
      • National BSL Day
      • All Events
      • England
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • OTHER
      • British Deaf News
      • World Federation of the Deaf
      • European Union of the Deaf
      • SHARE: The Deaf Visual Archive
      • Sign Language Week
      • Deaf Awareness Week
  • GET INVOLVED
    • SUPPORT US
      • Make a difference
      • Ways to Donate
      • Fundraise for the BDA
      • Fundraising Opportunities
      • Sending Sponsorship Money
      • In-Memoriam Donations
      • Gifts in Wills
      • Our Supporters
    • JOIN US
      • Current Job Opportunities
      • Become a Member
    • MORE FROM US
      • Newsletter
  • CONTACT
    • GET IN TOUCH
      • Contact Form
    • OUR OFFICES
      • England – London
      • England – Derby
      • Northern Ireland – Belfast
      • Scotland – Glasgow
      • Wales – Cardiff
    • SOCIAL MEDIA
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • Facebook – British Deaf News
      • Instagram
      • Linkedin
      • YouTube
  • SHOP
  • |
  • MEMBERSHIP
  •  |
  • DONATE
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT US
      • BDA Manifesto
      • What we stand for
      • Our Work
      • Board
      • Strategic Vision
      • Management Team
      • What the BDA means to you
      • History
      • Annual Reviews
  • WHAT WE DO
    • SIGN LANGUAGE
      • BSL in GCSE
      • BSL Act Now! Campaign
      • Legal Status for BSL
      • Our work in Government
      • BSL Facts & Resources
      • Research & Consultations
      • Sign Language Week
      • National BSL Day
    • OUR PROJECTS
      • Community Development
      • BSL Charter
      • Deaf Roots & Pride
      • Family Sign in the Home
      • Signs of our times
      • Advocacy Service
      • Heritage
      • Dementia Toolkit
      • Dementia Research
      • England Loneliness Project
    • VIDEO INFORMATION IN BSL
      • COVID-19
      • Family Sign at Home
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Hate Crime Prevention (Scotland)
      • Derbyshire Crime Project
      • Leicestershire Deaf Forum COVID-19 Project
      • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
      • Access to Justice
  • NEWS & EVENTS
    • NEWS
      • COVID-19
      • All News
      • England
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • EVENTS
      • BSL Conference 2025
      • National BSL Day
      • All Events
      • England
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • OTHER
      • British Deaf News
      • World Federation of the Deaf
      • European Union of the Deaf
      • SHARE: The Deaf Visual Archive
      • Sign Language Week
      • Deaf Awareness Week
  • GET INVOLVED
    • SUPPORT US
      • Remember A Charity Week 2022
      • Make a difference
      • Ways to Donate
      • Fundraise for the BDA
      • Fundraising Opportunities
      • Sending Sponsorship Money
      • In-Memoriam Donations
      • Gifts in Wills
      • BDA Shop
      • Our Supporters
    • JOIN US
      • Current Job Opportunities
      • Become a Member
    • MORE FROM US
      • Newsletter
  • CONTACT
    • GET IN TOUCH
      • Contact Form
      • 07795 410 724 (SMS)
      • Oovoo/Skype
    • OUR OFFICES
      • England – London
      • England – Derby
      • Northern Ireland – Belfast
      • Scotland – Glasgow
      • Wales – Cardiff
    • SOCIAL MEDIA
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • Facebook – British Deaf News
      • Instagram
      • Linkedin
      • YouTube
  • SHOP
  • |
  • MEMBERSHIP
  •  |
  • DONATE

England

3rd April 2014

Improving access to British Sign Language for families in England

Vimeo Video https://www.vimeo.com/90852543

Parents of deaf children are now able to access new resources offering information on British Sign Language (BSL) and how to find courses.

The National Deaf Children’s Society has produced two booklets, one for parents and one for local authorities, as part of I-Sign, a two year project funded by the Department for Education (DfE) to help improve access to BSL learning for families in England.

The National Deaf Children’s Society recently asked all local authorities in England about the support they offer families who would like to learn BSL. Many parents report difficulties in accessing courses due to high costs, a lack of information about the language or provision of courses in their area.

Learning British Sign Language: a guide for families with young deaf children in England provides vital information on how parents can find a BSL course in their area. Crucially it also outlines the support they can expect their local authority to offer.

A second resource, Access to British Sign Language Learning for Families with Deaf Children in England, aims to support local authorities identify the challenges parents might face when accessing BSL services. It offers recommendations on how to improve access to BSL, including making funding available to attend courses.

Martin McLean, I-Sign Project Manager at the National Deaf Children’s Society said: “Early communication within the family is the strongest influence on a child’s language development. 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents with no experience of deafness and it is vital families are aware of the various communication methods available to them, including BSL. The two new resources aim to ensure families know BSL is an option and how they can access it.”

The I-Sign project is being delivered by a number of organisations, including the National Deaf Children’s Society, Signature, Action on Hearing Loss, the British Deaf Association, Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education and University of Central Lancashire.

The resources can be downloaded from www.i-sign.org.uk, or a hard copy can be requested from the National Deaf Children’s Society’s Freephone Helpline on 0808 800 8880.

Education England News
Previous StoryOfficial Launch of “Legal Status for BSL and ISL” Report
Next StoryBSL Charter update for East Midlands

Related Articles

  • BDA-Solihull-Robin-Feat
    BDA visits Solihull Deaf Feelgood Group
    View Details
  • 3-Cards-Feat
    3 Money Saving cards - BDA Scotland
    View Details

SEARCH ALL NEWS

NEWS CATEGORIES

All News
England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales

RECENT NEWS

  • BSL-Poet-Laur-web-feat
    British Deaf Association reveals the UK’s 2025 British Sign Language Poet Laureate
  • MI Final Reckoning
    Mission: Impossible – Daily Captioned Screenings
  • Classroom-web-feat
    At long last, the BSL GCSE moves closer
  • Houses-of-Parliment
    British Sign Language comes to Parliament
  • AI-Statement-web-Feat
    BDA releases a Discussion Paper on AI BSL

BDA Head Office

We welcome your feedback and comments. Please feel free to get in touch:

Email: bda@bda.org.uk

USEFUL LINKS

Accessibility
Privacy Policy
Complaints Procedure
My Donations
British Deaf News

Registered charity - England and Wales (1031687) and Scotland (SC042409) Company No: 2881497 (England and Wales) - Copyright British Deaf Association 2024