British Sign Language (BSL) Equality

On this page:

Contact details
Information on our services in BSL
The BSL Charter
BSL Interpreters
Forums, reports and research
Learning to sign
Useful links

Contact details

Iain Sutherland is Bristol City Council’s Deaf Equality Officer based in the Equalities and Community Cohesion Team in the Council House. Iain can be contacted on email iain.sutherland@bristol.gov.uk

Information on our services in BSL

We have over 130 BSL information clips on our website. View the BSL videos.

We have distributed 700 copies of 'Did You Know' a booklet on services for Deaf people in Bristol (pdf, 468 KB) (opens new window).

The BSL Charter

We adopted the BSL Charter on 18 March 2003. We were the first local authority to do this. To date we have been asked to present our model of implementation of the Charter to different Local Authorities around the UK.

Iain’s role is to support us towards providing equal access to services for BSL users. This includes access to buildings, interpreter support, on-going feedback from the Deaf community through the BSL Forum and staff training.

BSL Interpreters

Amy Jenkins our in house interpreter. She works three days a week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and can be contacted via email Amy.Jenkins@bristol.gov.uk. Her sms number is 0779 544 5763.

About our BSL interpreter in BSL video.

Forums, reports and research

BSL Forum

Bristol BSL Forum is one of six 'equalities forums' (Currently there is a Race, Women's, BSL, Young and Older Peoples Forum) which are made up of volunteers to help raise issues of concern to Bristol’s minority communities within the council to ensure that all groups can have fair access to our services.

For more information, please contact:

Iain Sutherland, Deaf Equality Officer, Deaf Forum, Bristol City Council, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR
Email iain.sutherland@bristol.gov.uk

BSL Forum website

Consultation and report on educational provision for Deaf children and young people in Bristol

We commissioned a report, A Review of Educational Provision for Deaf Children and Young People in Bristol (pdf, 138 KB) (opens new window), which was completed in June 2010.

In November 2010 we drafted our Local authority's response to the proposals arising from the report of Educational Provision for Deaf Children and Young People in Bristol (pdf, 120 KB) (opens new window) and invited responses by 11 February 2011.

Research with Deaf People

We researched the Deaf BSL community in Bristol from January to May 2010. This research was started so that we could have a better understanding of how to meet the needs and requirements of the Deaf community. We aimed to find any gaps or failings in the services provided locally, which will help to develop future plans for the council’s Deaf Equality Officers.

A total of 48 people were interviewed, mostly face-to-face by using BSL as this meant that any questions that people were unsure about could be clarified, and allowed the opportunity to explore more about their views. This research was also an opportunity to discuss and explain more about the services available in Bristol, and helped towards the development of 'Did You Know' a booklet on services for Deaf people in Bristol. (pdf, 468 KB) (opens new window)

How Happy are Deaf Bristolians? (report) (pdf, 153 KB) (opens new window).
How Happy are Deaf Bristolians? (presentation) (pdf, 0.9 MB) (opens new window), delivered to Deaf people on 16 June 2010 to share the research findings.

Learning to sign

If you are interested in learning BSL there are various courses available in Bristol and nearby. The best way to learn is to take a course taught by a qualified sign language teacher. There are different courses, at different levels and for different types of qualifications. You can contact the training providers directly for further information.

Introduction to Sign Language or Deaf Awareness courses

Level 1 courses

Level 2 courses

Level 3 and 4 courses

You can find out more about BSL courses in this area on the British Deaf Association website.

Information in BSL about staff training in BSL