Studies have shown that deaf students struggle to make the grade throughout their education

The recent British Sign Language Bill highlighted the needs of every deaf person in the UK, and in particular those of students in higher education.

46% of deaf students who need support at university were still waiting for support when their course began and of those, over half waited more than two months for it to be put in place! When students receive the support, many find that it is not always available when they need it or relevant to their needs.

Deaf and hard of hearing students are missing out on vital information which could help them reach their potential

Nottingham Trent University has a long tradition of supporting deaf students throughout their studies and student life and was keen to provide them with more opportunities.

They wanted to improve the quality of their provision of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting services needed by an increasing number of students in a variety of settings.

Our Solution

Prestige Network has over 30 years’ experience of providing Sign Language services to range of organisations including Central and Local government, NHS Trusts as well as Education. PN Inclusion is our inhouse team of experts who tailor bespoke solutions for inclusive communication needs.

To support NTU our Inclusion Team took into consideration three key requirements:

• Ensuring an efficient working relationship between the Deaf students and the Prestige Interpreters by arranging meetings prior to the commencement of the academic year to discuss, prepare and agree signs for any subject-specific terminology relevant to their course.
• Building a core of team of 41 qualified interpreters all experienced in the subjects providing a committed and unbroken fulfilment, even in the event of unplanned absence.
• Scheduling a regular feedback platform for all stakeholders including students, Disability Office, Interpreters and our Inclusion Team, ensured that a communication flow was always open for improvement as the student-centric support that’s at the heart our service.

The Result

Our Inclusion team have been on hand to help the University implement these new resources to ensure an inclusive experience for all Deaf students.

We are now supporting 8 students in their full-time studies across a wide range of subject areas including Pharmacology, Architecture and Product Design.

For more information on how we can help your organisation with the provision of BSL, Lipspeakers, Notetakers, STTR, Training and Accessible Support Services tailored for students, please us on 01635 866 888 or email sales@prestigenetwork.com

We’ll create a solution from the ground up just for you.