Our experienced in-house tutors from the Foyle Deaf Association teach BSL (British Sign Language) and ISL (Irish Sign Language) classes from Levels 1 to 6. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to participate in one of our sign language courses.
Our sign language courses in both BSL and ISL are accredited by signature.org.uk.
Signature is the leading awarding body and provider of British Sign Language (BSL), Irish Sign Language (ISL) and other Deaf and Deafblind qualifications in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
www.signature.org.uk
Look out for our upcoming classes soon!
We were funded by the Department for Communities, which has profoundly impacted the FDA and, in turn, the Deaf Community we serve. It has allowed us to become a teaching organisation and provide successive cohorts of students with training in ISL and BSL from Level 3 to 6 and presently up to the interpreter level. Some of those students and other qualified candidates are now participating in our interpreter training programme, funded again by the Department for Communities, to address the dire need for Sign Language professionals in the country. DFC has also allowed us to purchase a building as our own Deaf Hub, furniture, and equipment, as well as provide various projects and activities for our members and service users, providing invaluable support for our Deaf Community and raising the profile of the FDA. Because of this, we are going from strength to strength as an organisation and a Community, and we are confident that we will continue to grow moving forward in becoming the focal point for the Deaf Community in the North West and the West as a whole.
Statement from the Department for Communities:
Acting Head of the Department’s Sign Language Policy and Legislation team, Tommy McAuley, explained, “The Department’s investment in Foyle Deaf Association demonstrates its commitment to developing the sign language infrastructure necessary to support the local Deaf community, and in doing so, improving accessibility to services for BSL and ISL users both in the north-west and across Northern Ireland. It is important that not only are these initiatives co-designed with the Deaf community but, where possible, their delivery is Deaf-led. Foyle Deaf Association is an excellent example of how the Department has worked alongside a Deaf-led teaching and cultural organisation delivering qualifications in their own languages, which will ultimately increase interpreter capacity but also promote BSL and ISL as languages in their own right to wider society. On behalf of the Department, I thank the Association for their hard work and diligence in guiding many students through the various levels of sign language qualifications over the past several years. I congratulate all those students who have attained their BSL or ISL qualifications.”
www.communities-ni.gov.uk