Communication Support Service 

What do we do?

Communication Support Service (CSS) was set up in April 2000 so that Deaf people can directly access Sign Language Interpreters or communicators for their day-to-day living demands.  We are grateful to Manchester City Council for their continued support. What we offer?  CSS can arrange a British Sign Language Interpreter to support Deaf people in many situations. These include:

• Hospital Visits
• GP Appointments
• Dentist Appointments
• Sight tests and visits to opticians
• Meetings with Council Departments
• School Parents Meetings
• Financial and legal meetings
• Job Interviews

We can also arrange Sign Language Interpreters for:

• Companies
• Local Authorities
• Private and Public Sector Organisations

More interpreters are required to support people in work situations and these can be funded by Access to Work, a government scheme designed to enable people to get back to work. CSS will be happy to provide help and guidance for this as many employers are not aware of this scheme. CSS only uses Qualified and Trainee British Sign Language Interpreters who are bound by a Code of Ethics and conduct.  Interpreters must be registered with the Independent Registration Panel (IRP), with the Council for the Advancement in Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) or be a member of the Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI). CACDP is a registered charity that raises standards of communication between deaf and hearing people. All the interpreters engaged by CSS have professional Indemnity Insurance and have had enhanced CRB checks. Sign Language may not always be the most suitable way of supporting clients, there are other methods of communication we can advise on, such as:

• British Sign Language
• Sign Supported English
• Relay Interpreters
• DeafBlind Interpreters
• Lipspeaking
• Palantyping (Speech-to-Text)
• Notetakers

Contacts