British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreting Service

Contact details

Our in-house BSL / English Interpreter, Amy Jenkins, works Wednesday to Friday and can be contacted on:

Email: amy.jenkins@bristol.gov.uk
Mobile (sms and voice): 07795 445 763
Textphone: 0117 357 4444
Telephone: 0117 922 2749
Fax: 0117 903 6427

Summary

The Translation and Interpreting Service (TIS) has an in-house interpreter and a list of freelance interpreters, including fully qualified and trainee interpreters.

In order to book a BSL interpreter you need to complete the TIS interpreter request form (pdf, 228 KB) in the same way as booking a spoken language interpreter.

Terms and Conditions for BSL Interpreting

When the in-house interpreter is booked there is a minimum of a two hour booking and the cancellation terms are the same as for the spoken language interpreters.

The freelance interpreters set their own terms and conditions and their minimum bookings are either two or three hours. Their cancellation periods differ from those of the Translation and Interpreting Service and it is important to note that the freelance BSL interpreters’ cancellation terms are:

• 1 to 7days – 100% charge.
• 8 to 14days – 50% charge.

Please see the Translating and Interpreting Service charging policy (pdf, 86 KB) for further information on the costs of the service.

How to manage a BSL Interpreting assignment

When making the booking please indicate how many interpreters you will need for the assignment. Interpreting is mentally and physically demanding so if you will require continuous interpreting for more than one hour we would recommend two interpreters. For short meetings one will be sufficient. If you are unsure the TIS team will be happy to advise you.

BSL interpreters require preparation materials to allow them to provide the best possible service and these should be emailed to TIS in advance of the assignment. This could include power point presentations, handouts, a programme of events or any forms that will be filled in.

When we have booked your interpreter we will send you a confirmation with the interpreter’s name. Most Deaf people like to know who will be working with them so please make sure you inform the Deaf person who the interpreter will be before the assignment.

We will also send you a monitoring form which needs to be filled in after the assignment, the form asks for feedback about the interpreters’ conduct and should be returned to the TIS.

The interpreter should not be left alone with the service user. If you are conducting a home visit the interpreter will meet you outside the property.

The seating arrangements should allow the Deaf person to look between the speaker and the interpreter with ease. The Deaf person and interpreter will be able to advise you on the day what will work best for the assignment. This should also allow you to talk directly to the Deaf person so you can address them as “you” rather than “can you ask them”.

Please speak at your normal pace, the interpreter will sign at the same time as you speak so you do not need to pause to allow them to interpret as you would with a spoken language interpreter. They may ask you to repeat or clarify information so they are able to interpret faithfully.

All of our BSL interpreters are trained professionals who follow a Code of Ethics. This means all information in interpreting situations will be treated as confidential.

Translations into BSL

BSL is very different from English so for Deaf people who use BSL, English is a second language. Many Deaf people find it hard to read English and do not access written information. Written correspondence such as letters, contracts and leaflets might not be fully understood, especially if they contain long words, jargon and complex sentence structures, and therefore you should consider if a BSL translation is needed.

The Deaf Equality Officer in the Equalities and Community Cohesion Team can translate any written material into BSL which is of benefit to deaf people in Bristol. It can then be distributed on a DVD or uploaded onto our website.

The service provider needs to create the script for the translation, this may mean summarising long documents. Scripts should usually be broken down into 100-word segments with a maximum of about 600 words in total, although there is some flexibility in this figure.

Please email Iain.Sutherland@bristol.gov.uk for information on BSL translations and charges. The service is free for our staff but there may be a charge for external organisations.

Deaf/interpreter awareness and BSL classes

If you anticipate that your team will be using interpreters on a regular basis then you might like to contact Iain.Sutherland@bristol.gov.uk to arrange Deaf/interpreter awareness and basic BSL sessions.

For further information on BSL classes in Bristol, see the main British Sign Language (BSL) equality page.

Useful links

The National Register of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind people (NRCPD) holds the register of BSL interpreters and maintains a complaints procedure if you should have a complaint about one of the freelance BSL interpreters.

BSL interpreters are registered in one of three categories: MRSLI (Member of the Register of Sign Language Interpreters); which means they are fully qualified, TI (Trainee Interpreters) and JTI (Junior Trainee Interpreters) who are still in training. For guidance about which level of interpreter will best suit your assignment please go to the National Register of Communication Professionals web site.

The Association of Sign Language Interpreter (ASLI) is made up of BSL interpreters and aims to improve standards of interpreting and raise awareness it also has a directory of its members.