Rotherham folk urged to learn to sign this summer with free online resource

Families and businesses from across Rotherham are being urged to learn to use basic British Sign Language (BSL) this summer, via a lottery funded website developed by Doncaster Deaf Trust.

The Trust is hoping that people from their neighbouring towns and cities will use the summer break to learn a new skill and will sign up to www.doncasterdeafsign.org.uk as part of Doncaster Deaf Trust’s mission to encourage more people to learn to sign.

The Trust launched a free online British Sign Language level one course in March 2020 and more than 20,000 people have already joined the programme to learn this vital skill.

Alexis Johnson, chief executive of Doncaster Deaf Trust said: “We would love to see families and businesses across South Yorkshire taking the time to learn to sign.

“This is not only a great communication skill to have but will enable people to communicate with members of the Deaf community.”

The free course is available for anyone, and it is simple to sign up. The course can be enjoyed at any time and participants set their own pace, doing a little each day or weekly and practicing as often as they can.

The course covers level one BSL content. If participants want to take an exam at the end they can do this via a third party and there is a cost associated with the exam.

To sign up to the free course visit www.doncasterdeafsign.org.uk