VIEWS & OPINION


Making remote learning accessible


for Deaf pupils Comment by CLARE VALE, managing director of Sign Solutions


As they take part in another round of remote teaching, many schools are taking lessons from the previous lockdown and using them to inform their work. However, despite their best efforts, Deaf pupils are not getting the specialist support needed to minimise the risk of them falling behind. Whilst school closures and remote teaching are necessary to contain the


spread of Covid-19, learning losses could have long-term consequences for the life chances of Deaf children and something must be done to provide more support.


Improving access for Deaf pupils Teachers have a vital role to play in ensuring Deaf pupils get the most out of the months ahead, and there are many steps they can take to do so. Firstly, hearing teachers must become ‘Deaf aware’ and think about


how they are going to the meet Deaf pupils’ communication and support needs. Deaf Awareness Training workshops can help educate teachers on the challenges their Deaf pupils may face during remote learning and can help them communicate comfortably. Teachers must also assess their content and ensure it is suitable for


delivery through a remote online platform, catering to Deaf pupils’ individual requirements and learning preferences. Teachers must ensure they are familiar with Deaf pupils’ needs by talking to their SENCO [or equivalent] and Teacher of the Deaf, sharing content with them and seeking feedback. When speaking on camera during virtual lessons, teachers should speak


slowly and ensure their faces are well lit and can be seen clearly, as Deaf children use visual clues and physical movements to help them learn. Giving Deaf pupils access to lesson content or overviews in advance


could also help them become familiar with new vocabulary, ideas and learning.


Providing interpreters Some Deaf students will need an interpreter and it is their school’s responsibility to put that provision in place before delivering the lesson, as well as to provide the interpreter with access to lesson content well in advance. Through these tools, Deaf pupils can be provided with remote video


interpreters to translate lessons in real-time, and schools can also include a video link on their websites so Deaf pupils can phone enquiry lines for advice via an online interpreter. Schools must opt for a suitable platform to enable user-friendliness for


Deaf pupils as their accessibility, security and quality features vary widely. The InterpretersLive! service, powered by Starleaf, delivers real-time


access to qualified and registered British Sign Language interpreters using a secure encrypted and ISO27001 accredited, HD quality video platform. The Starleaf platform has millions of users worldwide and is already familiar to the Deaf community in the UK, who use the platform to contact a range of organisations free of charge in their first or preferred language of BSL.


Conclusion Remote teaching and learning throughout lockdown is challenging for all students, not least those with hearing loss. Education is a right, not a privilege, for all children, regardless of whether they are Deaf, and they should all be provided with the support needed to help them through these unprecedented times. By becoming Deaf aware, making adjustments and seeking support


from an on demand BSL interpretation company, education providers can give Deaf pupils the chance they deserve to reach their full potential.


Why apprenticeships are a crucial option for creative industries


Comment by GENEVIEVE POTTER, General Manager, Bauer Academy


It’s no wonder the UK’s creative industries encompassing film and tv production, music and media are admired throughout the world. Before the pandemic, these industries were growing five times faster than the national economy and worth £13 million every hour (that’s over £100 billion a year). Whilst you’d expect these industries


to be a prime breeding ground for fresh new talent, take a closer look and you’ll see that many large employers are still not utilising their apprenticeship levy, four years after its introduction. For some, the prevalence of freelance, short-term contracts proves


problematic, given that apprenticeships must last a minimum of 12 months. But for others, there’s a historical reliance on more traditional routes to employment, for example graduate schemes, that is worryingly outdated. To reach the widest and most diverse talent, employers must fling their


doors open and appeal to the widest and most diverse pool of people. In support of this aspiration, the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) have recently published a new report ‘A Future of Fairness’, to give employers a series of tangible actions on recruiting and retaining top


March 2021


talent and encouraging equal opportunities. At Bauer Academy, the training division of Bauer Media, we are a living,


breathing testament to the value of apprenticeships within creative industries, with all of the diversity that they bring. We are currently working with a major advertising agency who have recently introduced the ‘Junior Advertising Creative’ level 3 apprenticeship, opening their doors to talent who may well have thought a ‘posh’ advertising agency wasn’t for them. Poets, sculptors, shelf stackers and DJs are amongst the latest cohort of apprenticeship learners to start their formal training, backed up by work-based learning and mentoring within the agency. Let loose on client briefs from day one, the programme is a brilliant example of the employer enlightenment that apprenticeships deserve. Elsewhere, we have a media client who is utilising their levy to upskill


journalists, some of whom joined the business as trainees because they didn’t have the opportunity to study for a journalism degree. One of our star learners in this group is a 40-something mother of a child with a learning disability. She’s pulling out all of the stops to gain her level 3 Journalism apprenticeship qualification, smashing through every exam and assignment that comes her way. We are teaching content production to new and existing marcomms


staff within a charity – many of whom work as a team of one within their regional bases. Embedding new skills like video and audio production is allowing them to tell stories to engage their audiences across multiple platforms, and the return on investment is pretty much immediate. Some might say that creativity is a skill that can’t be taught, but we’d


argue otherwise. Creativity is essentially about humans solving problems; apprenticeships provide a brilliant, classless way to learn those skills. And as the creative sector prepares to come roaring back, let’s hope that employers who have simply ruled out apprenticeships as not for them will now start to see the light.


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