About Us

We are a charity which promotes excellence in communication with deaf people. Our vision is one of a society in which deaf people have full access. It's this vision that drives our work to achieve a society in which deaf people experience no communication barriers.

Our primary work is as a recognised awarding body offering nationally accredited qualifications that cover the whole range of languages and communication methods used by deaf and deafblind people.

Developed out of a communication project funded by the department of Health, Signature was formally established as the Council for Advancement of Communication with Deaf People in 1982 by a partnership of organisations working with and representing deaf and deafblind people. We have developed qualifications, established professional registers for people working as communicators with deaf and deafblind people, and achieved some major public policy shifts leading to better service access for deaf and deafblind people. Our work remains as important now as it was on the day the charity was established. In this section you can read more about Signature and the people who work for us.