British Sign Language (BSL) awarding body: Signature

British Sign Language (BSL)

British Sign Language is a visual means of communicating using gestures, facial expression and body language with its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax. It is not dependent upon or related to English and is used mainly by people who are Deaf or to support those who have a hearing loss.

Similarly, to spoken language, there are regional variations. For example, the sign for ‘holiday’ which has around 10 -12 sign variations is dependent upon the area of the UK that you are in.

British Sign Language is a real, full and living language that is part of a rich cultural heritage and one of the UK’s indigenous languages.

It is also a gateway to learning, a path towards a sense of Deaf identity, and the means whereby Deaf people survive and flourish in a hearing world (Source: BDA, 2014).

On the 28th April 2022, the BSL Act was given Royal Assent. The Bill recognises British Sign Language as a language of England, Wales and Scotland; it requires the Secretary of State to report on the promotion and facilitation of the use of British Sign Language by ministerial government departments; and to require guidance to be issued in relation to British Sign Language.

Source: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2915

There are currently 12 million adults who have a hearing loss (Source: RNID 2018) and of these 151,000 of these use British Sign Language (this figure does not include professional BSL users, Interpreters, Translators etc). The British Deaf Association reported that there are 1.4 hearing people using BSL at home for every Deaf BSL user in the home.

Click here to read more on our What is BSL? page.

Who We Are

Signature is a national charity and the leading awarding body for deaf communication and language qualifications in the UK. With over 40 years’ experience, we’ve supported more than 500,000 people to learn British Sign Language.

All Signature qualifications are nationally recognised and accredited by Ofqual (The office of the Qualifications and Examinations regulator).

In 2019 Signature was announced as the winner of ‘Awarding Organisation of the year’ by the Federation of Awarding bodies.

Since Signature became an independent organisation in 1982 to promote and teach British Sign Language (BSL), we have supported more than 500,000 people to learn British Sign Language. We have also had thousands of other learners who have completed other deaf communication and language qualifications with us.

We create qualifications that provide our learners with the skills they need to build successful careers. While as a charitable organisation, we work tirelessly to improve communication, by creating learning opportunities for every stage of life.

Signature
Centre

We are the leading awarding organisation for British Sign Language (BSL) qualifications

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