Significant progress with sign language

Argyll and Bute Council has made significant progress supporting and promoting the use of British Sign Language (BSL) over the last 12 months.

At a recent meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee, members heard how six of the seven measures identified in its Joint British Sign Language Plan have either been completed or put in to practise since the plan was approved in October 2018.

To date, early years staff have been provided with a pack containing resources and information about deaf culture for parents, nurseries and health visitors; BSL online resources have been made easily accessible through the Argyll and Bute Education blog and early years staff have been provided with training on basic BSL and fingerspelling.

The council made a commitment to carry out a survey in schools each year to collect information on the level of BSL held by teachers and support staff and this year’s survey has been completed.

A pilot project to teach BSL 101 to primary four pupils at a school in Argyll and Bute has also been completed, with seven pupils having passed to date.

The council is also continuing to keep up-to-date records on where and how BSL is being offered in Argyll and Bute schools.

Argyll and Bute Council’s policy lead for customer support services Councillor Rory Colville said: ‘The Joint British Sign Language Plan is shared by the council, Live Argyll and the Health and Social Care Partnership, with the aim of improving access for deaf and deaf-blind BSL users to information and public services, including healthcare and mental health support. Teaching and raising awareness of sign language is important in helping to break down barriers that deaf and deaf-blind people often encounter. It also helps to keep pupils engaged, encourages inclusion and is shown to help children develop literacy skills and grammatical understanding.’