Participation through the British Sign Language Scotland Act

Participation through the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 Alison Hendry, Project Development Officer sparqs conference - Thursday 28 th March 2019

Background l Project Development Officer (BSL & Youth) l Remit is Scotland-wide l Scottish Government funded

British Sign Language l BSL – language in its own right, recognised in 2003 l Own grammar, syntax, structure – dialect variations l One of four indigenous languages in Scotland, alongside Scots, Gaelic and English › l (https: //www. gov. scot/policies/languages/) Used by 12, 533 people in Scotland (2011 census) › (http: //www. deafaction. org. uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Deafness-in. Scotland-A-recent-analysis. pdf)

BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 l Unanimously passed in Scottish Parliament on 17 th September 2015, receiving Royal Assent on 22 nd October 2015 l The BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 puts a duty on Scottish Ministers to promote and encourage the use of BSL as a language l Scottish Government BSL National Plan published in 2017; with Authority (Local) Plans from listed public bodies a year later

BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 & its impact on Deaf/Deafblind students l Better access l Raise awareness l Increased opportunities

Timeline for 1 st round October 2017 – 1 st National Plan October 2018 – 1 st Authority Plans October 2020 – 1 st Progress Report

National Plans every 6 years (2023, 2029…) Progress Report 3 years after National Plan (2026, 2032…) Authority Plans 6 months after National Plan

National Plan • Created by Scottish Government • For Scottish Government & listed national public bodies • National Advisory Group, national consultations, etc

BSL National Advisory Group l 21 individuals › › 11 BSL users 10 public body representatives l Remit l Regular meetings l Experience

BSL National Plan process l A draft of the BSL National Plan was published in both BSL and in English for consultation l Feedback on the draft plan was gathered via various ways › › l organised consultation events 1 -1 meetings online using a Facebook group online through the consultation website Published on 24 th October 2017

National Plan Authority Plans • Created by Scottish Government • For Scottish Government & listed national public bodies • National Advisory Group, national consultations, etc • Influenced by National Plan, mirrors principles • By, & for, listed local public bodies (local authorities) • Local consultations, locality-led – but can be shared

SFC Outcome Agreements l Embed BSL in the Scottish Funding Council’s Outcome Agreement expectations including: › › › Reporting on the BSL population in both sectors Update reports on the implementation of BSL Institutional Plans Setting and monitoring a National Ambition to seek improvements in representation and outcomes of BSL users in both sectors

Authority Plan development l Working group › l “when we were developing the plan, we only had 4 BSL using Deaf Students. All were involved in contributing ideas to the plan, and one was on the BSL working group” Individual meetings › “I asked the college’s Deaf students individually before we started the process how we could improve how we support Deaf students and got initial ideas and thoughts. I then spoke to the students again about half way through the process for their opinions on what we were doing and if we were going in the correct direction. ”

l Joint consultation events › › l “a joint consultation session with the Deaf Community, this was in recognition that individually we might not have significant numbers and this would be better as a joint initiative” “At the event each organisation had its own table and members of the deaf community were encouraged to speak to organisations and tell them what worked well, what didn’t work well and how their service could be improved. ” Online › › › Survey Facebook group Dedicated web page

Direct feedback – Deaf individual’s perspective

Direct feedback – FE/HE’s perspective l “Involving the students was absolutely essential to getting a proper understanding of what we need to do and why” l “Hearing and encouraging Students’ feedback through open consultation allows for our plan to be personalised to meet the needs of these students” l “We also involved our community in developing the initial actions. I think this process was really the foundations of future work. ”

Barriers l Timing › › l Accessibility › › l Last minute notification Only one specified time slot Information sharing to be in both BSL and English Deafblind accessibility too Organising communication support › › Book well in advance Ask individuals

Specific barriers from FE/HE l Geography › l I jumped into the partnership plan option and the three consultations are the best way to get a proper view of what people will need for the future. Lack of support › there is no mention of how Deaf students will be supported in the non-academic side of college (e. g. clubs, student rep system etc. ) so I don’t feel that our action plan encompasses all of student life.

National Plan Authority Plans Progress reports • Created by Scottish Government • For Scottish Government & listed national public bodies • National Advisory Group, national consultations, etc • Influenced by National Plan, mirrors principles • By, & for, listed local public bodies (local authorities) • Local consultations, locality-led – but can be shared • Scottish Ministers (Scottish Government) must review • Progress report to be produced to feed into next Plan

Recommendations l Information needs to be accessible in both BSL and English Allow sufficient time for booking language service professionals (LSPs) l Offer alternative time slot for meetings l l BSL Awareness training delivered