Using Local Offers to find British Sign Language (BSL) provision

In September 2014 many local authorities launched their Local Offers: websites that give information about services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, and their families. These Local Offers should provide useful information on services including health, education and social care, helping families and deaf young people to find out what local BSL provision is available. At the time of writing (December 2014), few Local Offers included information about BSL provision, perhaps because information on all services is still being developed. This document highlights examples of BSL provision found within four Local Offers. It is hoped that these examples will help you understand how a Local Offer can benefit children and young people who use sign language or families who want to learn BSL. Some of the services mentioned are not widespread and may not be available in your area. Page 9 explains what you can do if you do not have access to similar services or if your local authority has not included information about them in their Local Offer. For more information about Local Offers, download our factsheet for families from www.ndcs.org.uk/sen.

2

Essex – Identifying early years support www.essexlocaloffer.org.uk Essex’s Local Offer has easy-to-find information about BSL provision. Searching for ‘sign language’ on the homepage brought up two services for deaf children:

One was the Hearing Impairment service. This is a team of professionals including Teachers of the Deaf, family support keyworkers and sign language instructors, who support deaf children and their families in Essex: “Our sign language instructors offer children, young people and families instruction in BSL. This may be based in either the home setting, preschools, mainstream schools, specialist hearing impairment resource bases or post-school educational establishments. This service is centrally funded by the local authority and there is no cost to the user.” Contact details for the service are included. However, the Local Offer states children should be referred to the service following diagnosis from an audiology or ENT department. The second was Book Stock, a service offered through libraries in Essex. Families can access BSL resources such as sign language books and signed books for babies.

In 2013 we found out that 59% of local authorities support families to learn BSL to a basic level through tuition or funding. For more information download the I-Sign guide, Learning British Sign Language from www.ndcs.org.uk/isign.

3

Blackpool – A good range of services www.blackpool.fsd.org.uk/kb5/blackpool/fsd/localoffer.page Blackpool’s Local Offer website also has easily accessible information on sign language provision. Typing ‘sign language’ into the search box on the home page produces a list of services:

One of the services listed is the Flyde Coast British Sign Language Centre which runs sixweek foundation courses. The Local Offer site provides contact details, a location map and details of the cost of the course. Typing ‘hearing impaired’ into the search function produces a different set of results, including details of the Sign Hi Say Hi Club for deaf children and young people aged 5–16 and their families.

It is worth using more than one term when searching a Local Offer website. For example, typing in ‘deaf’ and ‘hearing impaired’ can produce different results, as can ‘sign language’ and ‘BSL’.

4

Blackpool’s Local Offer also lists details of one-off events such as a Minecraft event that was held for deaf children and young people in October 2014. It was made accessible to BSL users through an interpreter.

5

Trafford – Strong for young people www.trafforddirectory.co.uk Trafford’s Local Offer has information about events for young deaf people such as a Job Skills for Deaf People course delivered in BSL and run in late 2014 by a local charity, Genie Networks.

Details are provided about Manchester Deaf Centre’s youth group, where the main method of communication is BSL. The group does not meet in the Trafford area but the Local Offer includes details of services outside of the local authority that can be accessed. By law, your Local Offer should include information about services accessible in nearby local authorities.

6

Trafford’s Local Offer also provides details of a national organisation, Signed Performances in Theatre (SPIT). The entry provides a link to SPIT’s website which lists BSL interpreted performances taking place across the UK.

7

Bristol – Finding a bilingual school www.findabilitybristol.org.uk Bristol’s Local Offer is named ‘Findability’. It provides details of Elmfield School for Deaf Children which follows a ‘sign bilingual approach’, where British Sign Language and spoken English are used equally to educate children. There is a link to the school’s website where an SEN information report can be found. This provides further details of how the school meets the needs of children with SEN.

Bilingual BSL/English schools for deaf children will only be found in a few areas. Children will often travel outside of their local authority to attend a bilingual school and in some cases, board. For information about choosing a school for your child visit www.ndcs.org.uk/family_support/education_for_deaf_children/.

Findability also has an entry for the Family Centre for Deaf Children, which provides deaf awareness training and BSL courses for organisations including youth groups. The entry provides information about accessibility, staff skills and organisational policies.

8

What to do if your Local Offer does not include information about the types of services described in this document? At the time of writing, very few Local Offers had information about BSL provision. If you feel this information is missing from your Local Offer or certain services are not available in your local area you should submit feedback to the local authority. The ways you can submit feedback vary from area to area. Look at the home page of your Local Offer and see if you can find a feedback box or a contact email address. By law, local authorities must publish and respond to all comments received from families of children and young people with SEN and disabilities. For further information please read the National Deaf Children’s Society’s factsheet on Local Offers which can be downloaded from www.ndcs.org.uk/sen.

The I-Sign project These case studies have been produced as part of the two-year I-Sign project, funded by the Department for Education to improve access to BSL learning and provision for deaf children, young people and their families. The project is being delivered by a group of organisations including British Deaf Association, Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education, the National Deaf Children’s Society, Signature and University of Central Lancashire.

9

NDCS Freephone Helpline: 0808 800 8880 (voice and text) [email protected] www.ndcs.org.uk

JR0638

Last reviewed: January 2015 Next review due: January 2017 Published by the National Deaf Children’s Society Ground Floor South, Castle House, 37–45 Paul Street, London EC2A 4LS © The Crown February 2015 NDCS is a registered charity in England and Wales no. 1016532 and in Scotland no. SC040779. Tel: 020 7490 8656 (voice and text) Fax: 020 7251 5020

Funded by