The purpose of the BSL teacher directory to allow teachers to promote their skills, experience, and teaching qualifications. Whether you are a BSL teacher searching for a new role, or if you are a centre or educational setting looking for a new BSL teacher across the UK, this directory will be beneficial to you. For the purpose of this document, we refer to BSL teachers, but this includes BSL teacher and tutors.
We hope that this will provide better access to learners who wish to study sign language by putting centres or schools together with an appropriately qualified teacher so that more people can learn our beautiful language.
The data collected within the teacher directory will be used by partners to understand the skills and qualification levels of teachers and enable them to map for any gaps in teacher availability. This will then be used to create a plan of how we upskill and train more teachers.
The BSL teacher directory has been developed between a number of organisations who aim to promote BSL teachers and qualifications.
The organisations are:
Signature is a national charity and the leading awarding body for deaf communication and language qualifications in the UK. With over 40 years’ experience, we’ve supported more than 500,000 people to learn British Sign Language.
ABSLTA is a non-profit charitable organisation that aims to advance the profession of British Sign Language (BSL) education in the UK through deaf education and BSL courses.
The BDA is the UK’s only official national representative organisation of BSL and ISL. As a Deaf-led membership organisation, we campaign and advocate for our human rights to fully participate and contribute to society as equal and valued citizens. This is carried out through projects delivering individual and community advocacy. We also work to ensure BSL is included by public bodies by delivering a public commitment through signing the BSL Charter.
NDCS are the leading charity for deaf children and young people. We're here to support every deaf child who needs us.
BATOD is the sole Association representing the interests of Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People in the United Kingdom. It includes in its membership representatives from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and from all the many branches of the profession as well as colleagues from overseas.
British Sign Language (BSL) teachers/tutors teach sign language to children, young people and adults, and teach other subjects using sign language.
A Qualified Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People is a qualified teacher with the skills and knowledge required to provide quality teaching to mainstream learners and with the additional mandatory qualification and expertise in teaching deaf learners. The mandatory qualifications across the UK equip QToDs to work with deaf children and young people from birth to young adulthood.
Professional Support worked provide support for deaf learners in school using different methods of communication to suit the learner, this could include BSL, clear speech or notetaking. They also adapt learning materials to the person's needs.
