Renfrewshire Council

What or British Sign Language (BSL) plan is

We have developed a British Sign Language plan to help us better meet the needs of BSL users. The actions within the plan cover a range of Council services, such as improving BSL content on the website and encouraging BSL-using parents to take part in Parent Councils.

Under the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015, local authorities are required to publish their BSL plan by the end of October 2018. The plan was developed in consultation with BSL users in Renfrewshire and is available in BSL and English.

You can watch our BSL plan in the BSL videos below. The videos are also written English.

Who was involved with the plan

We encouraged people to give us feedback no matter whether they watched the BSL videos, read about it in English or met with officers.

We also held a consultation event in Paisley, hosted in partnership with University of West of Scotland, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, with BSL interpreters and electronic note takers available.

33 BSL users attended and gave us much-needed input into the actions and themes already covered in the draft plan as well as raising ideas for consideration and inclusion, where possible, into the plan.  

What you told us

The most frequently points raised during the consultation process included:

• The importance of having BSL on the front page of web sites, not after several clicks
• The importance of BSL training for parents and families of d/Deaf babies
• The importance of teaching BSL as part of language learning, not just focusing on foreign languages
• The need for support in applying for jobs and managing money
• The need for more BSL provision for d/Deaf children in Renfrewshire, including in schools and socially

Watch the plan in these BSL videos below