Students can sign up for free sign language courses

Education and health students are among those will be able to better communicate with deaf and hard of hearing people by signing up to free, course-backed sign-language lessons.

Undergraduate students from courses in the Faculties of Health and Society and Education and Humanities and who start their second year in September can now apply for the British Sign Language (BSL) Level 1 award.

BSL Level 1 award helps people become confident signing simple, everyday language and the course is particularly useful for students of subjects which may see them working with people who are deaf and hard of hearing, aiding their communication skills.

The course, which is funded by the two faculties, starts with an induction for successful applicants on 26 September. It will comprise of weekly, three hour long classes from October at Northampton based Deafconnect and who are delivering the course.

Students who are interested need to read the terms and conditions, commit to the training requirements and complete an application form.

The commitments are:

• Weekly sessions (64 hours of taught sessions running weekly from 9th/10th October 2018 to 19th/20th March 2019 with break at Christmas) at the University (venue tbc) on a Tuesday OR Wednesday evening from 6-9pm
• Applicants need to practice in their own time as an essential part of the course to develop their skills
• 40 hours of volunteering in the second or third year of study to support the local deaf community
• Passing a formal assessment at the end of the course to receive BSL Level 1.

Applications will also need to be accompanied with supporting reference from the student’s Personal Academic Tutor.

The deadline for applications is 12 noon on 31 August. Applications can be sent to: cath.kenny@northampton.ac.uk