logo
Sign language boards for Leeds playgrounds

Sign language boards for Leeds playgrounds

BBC News07-07-2025
Children in Leeds are being encouraged to learn sign language, with educational boards being put up in playgrounds across the city.The boards showing the British Sign Language (BSL) alphabet and a selection of words have been placed in 10 play areas with the aim of helping youngsters communicate. The Leeds Deaf Children's Society, which successfully applied for a grant to fund the boards, said it would help those unable to hear feel "less isolated" among their peers.Bryony Hughes, from the society, said: "We needed to use the money to improve the communication skills of local deaf children and we thought putting the signs in parks was a way we could reach as many families as possible."
Ms Hughes explained: "Our son is profoundly deaf and wears cochlear implants. "When he's not wearing them, we sign with him and it's important he has an additional way of communicating with us, and also with other deaf people."The sign language boards have been installed in children's play areas at Pudsey Park, Horsforth Hall Park and Bramley Park, as well as in Yeadon Tarnfield Park and Stanningley Park. They have also been placed in Springhead Park in Rothwell, Heritage Village, Blands Avenue in Allerton Bywater, Cross Flatts Park and East End Park.Leeds councillors Helen Hayden and Mohammed Rafique said: "The new signs are a great improvement to the playgrounds, encouraging interaction between all children, deaf and hearing. "Learning basic BSL is useful to any person, and we're hoping this will reach many local families and help them learn a new language."
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ukrainian refugee awarded special recognition for art GCSE
Ukrainian refugee awarded special recognition for art GCSE

The Independent

time2 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Ukrainian refugee awarded special recognition for art GCSE

A Ukrainian refugee says she has 'mixed feelings' but is 'so happy' after receiving special recognition for her art GCSE and achieving seven grade 9s and one 8 in total. Liza Minenko, 16, fled Ukraine in 2022 with her family after spending two weeks in a basement in Kyiv after the war broke out. When her family arrived in the UK, Liza and her two siblings were given full scholarships by Brighton College. She said: 'I was nervous, but I am so happy. I have mixed feelings. I want to go back to Ukraine but we are all really scared to go back to Kyiv. 'I haven't seen my grandparents for years since the start of the war but I know they will be proud of what I have achieved today.' Liza received recognition from the Cambridge OCR exam board as one of the top performers in art in the country. She is planning to take art, maths, physics and chemistry at A-level. At an assembly marking the third year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February this year, Liza addressed the school. 'You need a lot of strength to live in a country that is in a state of war,' she said. 'You also need a lot of strength when you have to leave behind your home country and everything and everyone you know.' She is one of 23 Ukrainian refugees enrolled in scholarships at Brighton College, and her mother praised the school for their 'humanity, acceptance and warmth'. Also at the college, Nathanial Byng, 16, won a national award for achieving the highest mark in the country in his English Literature GCSE. The college said that both his parents are 'senior figures' in publishing, so he started reading at a young age.

Surrey GCSE students excel as 18.5% achieve 8 or above
Surrey GCSE students excel as 18.5% achieve 8 or above

BBC News

time3 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Surrey GCSE students excel as 18.5% achieve 8 or above

Pupils across Surrey have been opening their GCSE results, with 18.5% celebrating a grade 8 or above, according to exam watchdog Ofqual. This figure is a slight dip on the 8 and above score rate of 18.6% in 2024. The GCSE pass rate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has fallen by 0.2% with 67.4% of grades at a 4, or C, and in Surrey, pupils exceeded this, with 76.9% achieving a pass marked at this level or above. Pupils at Magna Carta School, Staines, were among those tentatively opening those results envelopes 16, achieved mostly 8s and 9s. He told BBC Surrey: "It was a lot of hours at the local university library but the work was put in and I think it paid off."His advice to those sitting exams in future was: "It's a long marathon so don't burn out too quickly, take it slow and put the work in throughout the year."GCSE grades in England have been graded with numbers since can find out what the numerical scores are equivalent to in the old grading system here. Meanwhile, fellow pupil Isabella, 16, said studying was "a lot of hard work". "I'm now going to go to college and go and do Maths, Politics, Economics, Biology, Portugese and EPQ."Isabella's mother, Hannah, said it been "stressful" but Isabella had worked "really, really hard".She said she had tried to help by "dragging that GCSE knowledge" out of her brain."The internet has been my friend," she added. It's not all about intense revision schedules though. Charlie, 16, said general wellbeing was also key to his success. "Revision every night before the GCSEs, make sure you sleep well and a good breakfast in the morning helped me too."I got everything I wanted. In History I got a 9, which is good because I'm trying to take it at A-level." 'Resilient and inspirational' Elsewhere, in Reigate, students at Reigate Grammar School were reportedly celebrating their "most successful results day ever". The school announced 90% of all grades were awarded a 7 or above, with nearly 75% at the very top grades of 8 or 9. Headteacher Shaun Fenton OBE described the results as "astonishing" and described pupils as "a community of young people who are kind, creative, resilient and inspirational".Surrey students achieved the highest pass rate (scores of 4 or above- equivalent to the old C grade) across the South East (76.9%), when compared with Kent (68%), East Sussex (67.8%), and West Sussex (68.1%).

Urge to separate household waste after Oswestry battery fire
Urge to separate household waste after Oswestry battery fire

BBC News

time3 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Urge to separate household waste after Oswestry battery fire

Firefighters in Shropshire have stressed the importance of separating household waste, after a battery pack started a fire at a recycling Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to Papersort UK on Maesbury Road Industrial Estate, Oswestry, at about 07:36 BST on bale of compacted paper was smouldering inside a machine, while there was also a small fire in the base of the equipment, it was discovered that there was a lithium battery pack amongst the paper that had been damaged during the compaction process. The fire service said the incident demonstrated the importance of making sure waste was properly separated when taken to recycling centres and domestic added that paper waste brought to the site was screened and prepared for compaction by a separate, unrelated to cameras at the site that use image analytics to detect the infra-red characteristics of a fire, the incident was caught early. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store