The journey to creating the Deaf Village, has been 18 years in the making. Debra Cartlidge who founded the School of Sign Language in 2006 has always had the core aim of:

“Breaking Down the Barriers between the d/Deaf and Hearing Community”.

Part of Debra’s vision was to create a Deaf Village, a Deaf-Led organisation that promotes inclusivity at its core. The Deaf Village aim is to establish, develop, maintain, operate and manage a cohesive and prosperous community where everyone is active, treated fairly and thriving, where people’s faith and cultures are understood and respected, addressing community segregation, reducing social exclusion, enriching all of our lives by developing communities.

For over 30 years Debra has campaigned for Deaf rights and access to networks of support for disadvantaged and isolated people. Deaf herself (with reliance upon bilateral BAHA systems) Debra has given so much of her life over to raising awareness and understanding about the different needs, of both Deaf and disabled lives.

Debra’s vision for the School of Sign Language was to continually strive to alleviate the numerous continual barriers faced by Deaf people across society. The School of Sign Language have worked with people, businesses, community enterprises and anyone who wants to come and learn Deaf Culture, Deaf Awareness, British Sign Language and general positive communication skills for engaging with Deaf people. We have a wonderfully talented Deaf staff team and the business is Deaf-lead, with Debra as the driving force behind this.

Debra has been awarded many accolades over the years, including EVA’s Outstanding Achievement Award 2023 and Inspirational Women of the Year, Stelios Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year, Linguist of the Year, and most recently nominated for a Signature’s ‘Hall of Fame’ Award

The Deaf Village comprises of Our Deaf Hub which provides a safe, supported, social space for Deaf sign language users. We provide a broad range of services and care packages tailored to each individual’s need.

It also encompasses the White House Deaf Specialist Provisions, that provides a safe place and space for Deaf adults with complex needs; a nurturing accessible ‘family’ community enables young adults to grow and thrive in a shared-learning environment; developing life-skills, independence and self-hood; to ‘give back’ dreams and aspirations and, above all, possibilities to our young Deaf adults. This model is the first of its kind in the UK and has purely been driven by the need for this service for the Deaf Community, as this unique service offering is not otherwise catered for across the usual strands of care provision.