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British Sign Language (BSL) version

Attendees

Board members

• Craig Crowley MBE FRSA, Co-chair of BSL Advisory Board
• Alex Gowlland, Deputy Director of Disability Unit, Cabinet Office, Co-chair
• Jo Atkinson
• Teri Devine
• Asif Iqbal MBE
• Richard Macqueen
• Ahmed Mudawi
• Sylvia Simmonds
• Sam Stocken
• Mangai Sutharsan
• Martin Thacker 

Other attendees

There were 8 civil servants in attendance representing:

• Disability Unit (DU)
• Department for Education (DfE)
• Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual)
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) 

Apologies

• Kate Reed 
• Vicki Ashmore
• Gaye Hampton
• Zoe Fudge-Ajadi
• Richard Platt
• Erin McCluskey

Summary of discussion

Headlines from the co-chairs

Alex and Craig welcomed the members and led introductions. 

They updated the board on:

• the recruitment process for the next BSL Advisory Board members, who will start after the current board members’ tenures finish in December 2025
• the British Deaf Association conference
• the removal of 2 board members

The co-chairs congratulated the Deafblind working group on a successful meeting with NRCPD and Signature around Deafblind interpreters.

Update on assistive and accessible technology

The board met an official in DU who is working on assistive and accessible technology (ATech). They discussed DU’s priorities on ATech and their interest in working with the board’s technology working group. 

Subgroup updates

Health and social care subgroup

The sub group chair updated the board on the progress of the health and social care report. 

The board raised that priority areas in the report were:

• the complaints procedure
• Accessible Information Standard (AIS)
• data collection
• early years

Education subgroup

The subgroup is now focussed on implementing the recommendations that were made at the Education Summit at Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children. They are drafting a response to Ofsted’s consultation on improving the way Ofsted inspects education settings. The subgroup is also looking at models of mainstream education that support Deaf children with the intention to make recommendations to the government on best practice.

Local authorities subgroup

The group met for the first time in January and had a very positive meeting. 

They discussed their priority areas, including:

• which geographical areas they want to engage with
• which local authority bodies would be best to invite to future meetings

Deafblind working group

The board heard about the successful meeting that took place in January with NRCPD and Signature around the barriers to Deafblind interpreters. 

It has been agreed that:

• the group will meet again
• the BSL Advisory Board will convene a group to look into the job description for communicator guides

Progress on the BSL GCSE 

The board met with Ofqual and DfE to discuss the progress of the BSL GCSE. The board were reassured of the commitment to progress the BSL GCSE. They heard how delays were due to this being a unique qualification and the importance in ensuring the GCSE remains a high quality qualification. Ofqual confirmed that a consultation would be launched in spring.

Work adjustment planner

DWP officials told the board about a work adjustments document that has been created for Deaf BSL users to use when they move jobs or have a new manager. 

The document is aimed at reducing the barriers to employment for Deaf people as it allows for the Deaf person to set out their communication needs.

The board discussed how this document could be used.

Driving theory tests

An official from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology presented on the encouraging work that is ongoing to make driving theory tests more accessible for Deaf BSL users. This project is based on the data that Deaf people have a pass rate of 22% compared to their hearing counterparts, who have a pass rate of 50%. 

The board members were very happy with the work the project team had done. They were impressed with how well they understood the barriers Deaf people face in accessing driving theory tests.

Any other business

The board discussed the next meeting date. The co-chairs thanked the board members for their contributions and the meeting concluded.