British Sign Language Club offers CPD accredited skills through FONS
March 13, 2025
The BSL club has seen a number of engaged pupils learn more about Deaf culture, including how to sign.

The British Sign Language (BSL) Club has seen great success since its inception, with consistent weekly attendance. On average, 13 pupils attend each week, with a maximum of 20 pupils participating during peak weeks. The club is designed to introduce and engage students with essential BSL skills, fostering an inclusive environment and promoting greater awareness of Deaf culture.
Each lunchtime session is focused on practical and essential skills, including:
- BSL vocabulary
- Fingerspelling
- Numbers
- Conversational phrases
Students are introduced to BSL's unique grammar, sentence structure, and non-manual features, such as facial expressions, that are crucial for effective communication. Engaging, interactive activities include:
- Fingerspelling practice
- Vocabulary games
- Role-playing conversations
Additionally, pupils watch and mimic videos of fluent signers, participate in storytelling, sign songs, and engage in paired activities for practice in real-life contexts (e.g., describing images or having conversations).
A notable achievement has been the filming of the “12 Days of Christmas” song, which was published in the school’s newsletter. This project provided a creative and fun opportunity for pupils to showcase their learning.BSL - 12th Day of Christmas.mp4
To further enhance the learning experience, 20 enrolments for an online BSL course provided by British-Sign.co.uk were purchased. This course offers a CPD-accredited certificate. 19 pupils have actively engaged with the course, completing online assessments in the Dyers ICT suite in early February.
We are extremely grateful to the Friends of Norwich School for their contribution of £200 towards these costs.
The next steps for the club will focus on expanding students' vocabulary and teaching the importance of positioning during sign language, especially in descriptive and listing contexts. Pupils will have another opportunity to use the Dyers ICT suite at the end of March to complete additional online units, with the goal of taking the final assessment during the summer term. Pupils will also have access to the online course for up to two years.
In June, there will be an exciting outreach opportunity with Caroline Speca and students from Clare School. This event will include a collaborative storytelling performance, with pupils from Norwich School signing a story alongside the school musicians and an art performance delivered by James Mayhew.
Thanks to the generous funding provided by FONS, the BSL club has made valuable progress in equipping pupils with essential language skills. This initiative has not only enhanced their ability to communicate in BSL but has also fostered a deeper understanding and appreciation for Deaf culture and the Deaf community. The club is empowering individuals with new skills and promoting inclusivity across the school.






