Signature is a United Kingdom national charity and awarding body for deaf communication qualifications.
Signature attempts to improve communication between deaf, deafblind and hearing people, whilst creating better communities.
Since the charity was formed in 1982, more than 420,000 people have taken a Signature qualification.
All Signature qualifications are nationally recognised and accredited by Ofqual (The Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator). They are the largest awarding body in the UK for deaf and deafblind qualifications.
British Sign Language (BSL), Irish Sign Language (ISL), Speech to text reporting and Communicating with Deafblind people are some of the available qualifications.
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History
The charity grew from a Communication Skills Project. The Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) was established in 1982 to increase the number of people gaining skills in Sign Language and Sign Language Interpreting. CACDP set up the first register of
communication professionals
Professional communication, encompasses written, oral, visual and digital communication within a workplace context. This discipline blends together pedagogical principles of rhetoric, technology, software, and learning theory to improve and deli ...
in 1982.
At first, only BSL/English interpreters were able to register but this was later expanded to include speech to text reporters, lipspeakers, notetakers and deafblind interpreters.
In 2009, CACDP rebranded to Signature.
Signature Hall of Fame
To celebrate forty years of the charity in 2022, Signature inducted ten prominent figures in the deaf world into their 'Hall of Fame'. The inductees were: David Buxton, Clark Denmark, Charlie Swinbourne, Deaf Village North West, Performance Interpreting, Leeds City Council Deaf (DAHIT), Ahmed Mudawi,
City Lit
City Lit is an adult education college in Holborn, central London, founded by the London County Council in 1919, which has charitable status. It offers part-time courses across four schools and five "centres of expertise", covering humanities an ...
, Lipspeaker UK and Lesley Weatherson,
Chief Inspector Emma Gilbert.
[{{cite web , url=https://limpingchicken.com/2022/11/19/first-10-inductees-for-signatures-hall-of-fame-announced/ , title=First 10 inductees for Signature's Hall of Fame announced (BSL) , date=19 November 2022 ]
References
Deafness organizations
Deaf culture in the United Kingdom
Deafness charities
External links
Signature Website