Free Deaf Awareness Week
Resources for Schools
Deaf Awareness Week ran from the 4th-10th May 2026 this year. The week is run annually to celebrate British deaf culture, raise awareness about deafness and promote inclusion of the deaf community.
This year’s theme focused on the ‘Right to understand - Together, we break barriers’. The theme highlights the importance of collective action to ensure a more inclusive environment where those living with deafness, or a form of hearing loss have equal access to communication and opportunities.
With 1 in 3 adults in the UK living with some form of hearing loss, it is important that we understand the everyday challenges faced and consider how our everyday communication can be made more accessible for those living with a form of hearing loss.
How to teach Deaf Awareness to Primary School pupils
The School of Signs recognises the importance of educating students on deaf awareness. We are proud to offer a dedicated hour-long free deaf awareness lesson where students can learn more about communication methods, deaf awareness tips and watch examples of how to communicate in action. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to use these skills in society and will be more confident in their communication.
Alongside enriching the students, we are proud to offer free training for teachers, with a complete deaf awareness training course and supporting resources available on The School of Signs platform. Teachers will learn about communication aids, deafness, tinnitus and deafblindness among other topics.
To access all of these free resources and more, sign up to The School of Signs today.
Sign up for FREE Deaf Awareness Flashcards:
If you are looking for physical resources to support your teaching and learning of deaf awareness, Signature is excited to announce that we have created limited edition FREE flashcards in partnership with the National Deaf Children's Society.
Beyond just a week, Deaf awareness is important all year round, and learning together as a family or with friends can help create a more inclusive environment for everyone.
Therefore, Signature and the National Deaf Children’s Society have worked together to create flashcards to help children practise deaf awareness tips and basic BSL. By creating this portable resource, we hope to continue the mission at the heart of The School of Signs and encourage more people to learn some BSL, helping to build a more inclusive society where deaf children and their friends and family can communicate confidently and be better understood in everyday life.
The flashcards are all hand illustrated in the same style as the resources available on The School of Signs, and the vocabulary shown cover a range of topics in BSL which are covered on the platform, including:
- Everyday life
- Feelings
- Colours
- Food and Drink
- Greetings
- Family
- Friends
The flashcards, which come with both illustrations and links to videos for each sign, make it easy for people to practise vocabulary whenever they like and share learning with family and friends at home or school.
Order your free limited-edition flashcards HERE while stocks last.
Get some tips from our deaf awareness webinar
This Deaf Awareness Week, The School of Signs hosted a public webinar with 2Simple where we discussed deaf awareness specifically in educational settings.
The webinar covered:
- What is Deaf Awareness Week
- Simple deaf awareness tips
- The different way your school can bring deaf awareness to the classroom
- Where you can find free resources to support you
You can watch a recording of this webinar on 2Simple's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zH_8mEJPHE