British Sign Language - Level 1 Award

Our British Sign Language (BSL) Level 1 Award is the perfect course to start your BSL journey. This beginner’s award offers an introduction to how British Sign Language is structured and supports you in learning to communicate with the Deaf community in BSL.

You will gain basic skills and the confidence to both produce and receive BSL communication — from discussing common topics and asking and answering questions to using appropriate facial expressions and gestures to enhance your communication.

At the end of this BSL beginners course, you’ll be able to:

• Understand and use a limited range of simple words and sentences in BSL
• Take part in simple, everyday conversations in BSL
• Give and follow simple directions or instructions in BSL
• Give and follow simple, familiar statements or descriptions in BSL.

There are 3 units to the course:

• BSL 101 - Introduction to BSL
• BSL 102 - Conversational BSL
• BSL 103 - Communication in BSL about everyday life.

The BSL Level 1 qualification is ideal for anyone who wants to learn basic language skills to communicate with Deaf People, whether they plan to progress to a more advanced BSL level or not.

The Level 1 Award in British Sign Language can be undertaken by anyone and doesn’t require any previous experience.

BSL competence standards stipulate that learners need to have sufficient sight, manual dexterity, and facial and body movements to produce and receive BSL.

To evaluate your understanding and ability to communicate using BSL, you will undergo three assessments to complete your British Sign Language Level 1 course. All three assessments will be conducted by your teacher, but 102 and 103 will be externally marked by an assessor from the awarding body, Signature.

• BSL101 - This assessment involves a basic conversation between you and the teacher.
• BSL102 - For this part of the course, you will have a 4-5 minute conversation in BSL on specific themes covered in the BSL102 unit.
• BSL103 - This involves another 4-5 minute conversation, this time focusing on themes and topics covered in the BSL103 unit.

Adults - ENTRY LEVEL/LEVEL 2

This course may be free if you meet certain conditions:

• If you are not working or have a low income. You need to show proof of your income or benefits.
• Residency rules apply. You need to show you have permission to live, work and study in the UK without conditions.
• There are some exceptions, such as certain visa types.

Check here which documents you need to show us and which visa types are allowed.

If you do not meet the residency rules, you can still enrol on the course, but you may have to pay some fees. All applicants are fee-assessed during enrolment.

If you are not eligible for a free or reduced-cost course, you need to pay the full fee.

Some courses have other additional costs, such as for specialist materials and trips.

Many of our students are eligible for financial support. See here for details.

There are no additional costs associated with this course.

After completing your British Sign Language Level 1 Award, you will be able to use BSL to communicate with Deaf individuals. You’ll be able to cover a range of themes that involve simple, everyday language use. 

This course will support you in communicating with friends or family, or offer inclusive communication to those with hearing loss in the workplace. You may be able to progress to the Level 2 Certificate in BSL as the next stage of your journey.