The BBC team responsible for their flagship programme EastEnders have proven themselves to be both diverse and accessible. The production employed Samantha two years ago, initially in a research role in the Script Department, and now as Archivist for the BBC's flagship programme which produces 2 hours of prime time drama each week.

Deaf awareness and basic BSL training was given to some staff when Samantha joined the programme but it recently became apparent that communication barriers meant Samantha felt excluded from conversations, both work-related and social, preventing her from being an inclusive team member. Both Samantha and her manager agreed this needed to improve and asked RNID's Training Services to help break down the communication barriers by providing Deaf Awareness Training to Samantha's colleagues.

During the training delegates were encouraged to think about communication barriers deaf and hard of hearing people encounter and about available solutions. Through practical exercises and group work it was shown how difficult it can be to communicate using only visual methods such as lipreading. The exercises encouraged delegates to change their behaviour and think about how they had excluded their deaf colleague by ignoring her.

Once the training had begun all staff were really interested in finding out more about life from a deaf person's perspective. An important outcome of the course was it improved hearing colleagues' confidence when approaching their deaf co-worker and showed them best practice when communicating with deaf and hard of hearing people. Other issues covered on the course included different types of deafness, etiquette, explanation of the DDA, communication tips when speaking to someone who is deaf or hard of hearing and the opportunity to ask questions.

An aspect of the training delegates found especially useful was that it was delivered by a deaf person who was able to provide personal examples of the issues deaf and hard of hearing people face everyday and suggest simple and effective solutions to overcome these. 

Commenting on this Carolyn Weinstein, Company Manager, BBC EastEnders said:

"The trainer was excellent and he gave us some really valuable advice, examples and really got the message across." 

Asked if the training changed staff attitudes to deaf people, Carolyn responded:

"It encouraged people to include their deaf colleague in conversations, think about how to communicate with her and understand the isolation a deaf person can experience. I can now see people being friendlier, more inclusive and deaf aware. Samantha feels the training has had a positive effect and she's much happier as a consequence. 

To ensure it remains proactive in promoting accessibility and compliant with equality legislation, all new staff in the department in which deaf colleagues work will be taught about deaf awareness.

To find out more about the benefits deaf awareness training can offer your organisation contact RNID, Training Services on 0161 276 2311/2 or email training.services@rnid.org.uk