Minister launches largest ever sign language project for deaf children

At a family event held in London, a key government minister met with parents of deaf children to formally launch I-Sign, an exciting new project to ensure the future provision of British Sign Language (BSL) for deaf children in England.

The I-Sign project brings together a consortium of leading deaf charities and educational establishments, which have been provided with £800,000 of funding by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

NDCS is playing a key role within the consortium, which also includes BDA, Signature (formerly known as CACDP), Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education, Merseyside Society for Deaf People (MSDP), RNID and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN). 

Thanks to the £800,000 funding, the consortium will work together on the two year project to:

• to help families with deaf children who use BSL learn the skills they need to communicate effectively;
• improve the BSL skills of people working directly with deaf children and their families;
• develop a higher level qualification for communication support workers who assist deaf children in the classroom; and
• increase the availability of BSL teachers, courses and interpreters.  

The project was formally launched at a family event on Thursday 25 June, attended by parents of deaf children and the government minister, Diana Johnson, responsible for special educational needs at DCSF, who said:

“Overcoming the communication barriers experienced by deaf children is key to ensuring they get the best education possible. The Government is committed to providing parents and the school workforce the communication support they need to ensure deaf children fulfil their potential. I am delighted that we are funding such an innovative and exciting project. Developing qualifications for teachers and providing interactive materials for parents to learn sign language will help deaf children communicate effectively both at home and at school.”

As part of NDCS's Close the Gap campaign to ensure deaf children are able to fulfil their potential, NDCS has been campaigning for more support for families to be able to communicate with their child. The campaign also calls for communication support workers in the classroom to have the right qualifications to be able to work with deaf children, amidst concern that many only have a basic Level 1 qualification in BSL.

More information:

NDCS's Close the gap campaign

Transcript of Diana Johnson's speech at the I-Sign launch(61 kb)