Sally Reynolds

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Introduction

photo of Sally Reynolds

Welcome to my website. I am a London-based deaf professional with wide experience of working across education, arts, charity, health and corporate settings in the following specialist areas:

Consultancy

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me for a no obligation initial consultation, or for a quote. I am happy to arrange a meeting online.

BSL/English Translation Work

Deaf clients can use their Access to Work (AtW) funding to pay for translation work.

I am an approved Band 4 Specialist Support Professional (Deaf Students) funded by the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA). This covers proofreading and 1:1 study skills for deaf students in Higher Education.

Why not ask your assessor to include this cost in your assessment?

It is worth explaining that

Legal

I have CRB clearance and professional indemnity insurance. A strict confidentiality policy is followed at all times. Terms and conditions can be provided on request.

Do contact me for further information regarding costs here.

Project Management

I have a strong track record of project delivery, having worked for several years as a Project Manager in the third sector running several UK-wide projects. Highlights include managing the Jack Ashley Millennium Awards, setting up a mentoring programme, co-ordinating the Family Communication Services, running a Deaf Role Model Programme, developing and writing the Family Sign Language Curriculum.

Some of the freelance work that I have been commissioned to do:

I am able to support projects from the start of the process until the end, no matter how large or small!

Research

I hold an MPhil from Bristol University looking at Deaf People's Understanding of Health Care and Health Care Systems.

Some of the research work that I have done:

I am able to carry out all aspects of research including; initial consultation with clients, establishing community engagement, interviewing, running focus groups, analysis and report writing.

Training

Bespoke Training

Sometimes the most effective way to meet your organisation's learning objectives is by commissioning someone to design training specifically for you. I can offer bespoke learning that has the added advantage of incorporating client's cultural and access needs. Once you have identified a training need, do get in touch to discuss your options.

Deaf Awareness

I have delivered Deaf Awareness for:

Get in touch to find out more about how I can tailor this training to meet your workplace's specific needs and requirements.

Working with a Deaf Colleague:

I can come to your workplace and run a “Working with a deaf colleague” session for between 3 and 10 staff. Contact me to discuss exactly what you want.

1:1s

I offer 1:1s - this can include; reviewing CVs, practicing for job interviews, career counselling, troubleshooting in the workplace or brushing up on English skills.

Supporting Deaf Clients

Do you need BSL/English support?  Someone to proofread your documents to a high standard?
A professional and polished document will give you peace of mind, and it will allow you to perform your job with confidence.

I am skilled in reading and understanding deaf people’s English, or English written in BSL format (BSL level 6 NVQ qualification awarded May 2014). Feedback from some of my clients can be read here.

I can offer the following services:

Translation

British Sign Language/English

Proofreading

English documents checked and edited.

Copywriting

English documents created from BSL or English notes.

Plain English

Written English that is difficult to understand can be edited, so that it is clear and accessible to/for its target audience

Covering costs

Deaf clients can use their Access to Work (AtW) funding to pay for translation work. Why not ask your assessor if you can use this service as part of your support?

I am an approved Band 4 Specialist Support Professional (Deaf Students) funded by the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA). This covers proofreading and 1:1 study skills for deaf students in Higher Education.

It is worth explaining that:

Legal

I have CRB clearance and professional indemnity insurance.  A strict confidentiality policy is followed at all times. Terms and conditions can be provided on request.

Do contact me if you have any questions, or want to know more about costs.

Publications

Here is a selection of some of the publicly available reports and documents, that I have authored, or been involved with:

Journal Article (2013)

Schembri, A., Fenlon, J., Rentelis, R., Reynolds, S. & Cormier, K. (2013)
Building the British Sign Language Corpus. Language Documentation and Conservation.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing people's access to primary health care services in North East Essex (2009)

Consultative report written in partnership with Dr Helen Earis on behalf of the North East Essex Primary Care Trust working in partnership with the Royal Association for Deaf People.  This investigated deaf and hard of hearing people’s access to Primary Care Services in North Essex (2009).

Link to PDF file

Deaf People's Understanding of Health and Health Care Systems (2007)

MPhil Thesis, Bristol University (2007).

Link to PDF file

Deaf People's Health Experiences in Scotland (1997)

Testimonials

Comments from happy clients!

Training

Sally provided training for NHS staff on working with a deaf colleague. We were most impressed with the delivery of the programme, as Sally demonstrated great understanding and humour, but also with the design which had been tailored to our specific needs. All staff left their session very positive and enthusiastic about ensuring their deaf colleague is fully included in the team. Enlightening was frequently mentioned in feedback, as was a request for more sessions in future.

Consultant Nurse at a London teaching hospital

It was great to work with Sally on on the delivery of deaf awareness and working with deaf colleagues. Sally was able to make the material interesting and accessible to hearing staff and was also great at managing the sessions. Sally understood what we wanted out of the workshops and also talked to several of the deaf staff in order to understand some of their needs in the workplace. I've had fantastic feedback from hearing staff who took part and also from their deaf colleagues.

British Library

I had the pleasure of working with Sally on the planning, delivery and evaluation of a Deaf Arts Leaders’ Training residential, in partnership with Deafinitely Theatre and the National Deaf Children’s Society in 2013. Sally was incredibly skilled in the preparation of appropriate training sessions and course materials, and an excellent facilitator, adapting to the needs of participants, ensuring all were engaged and challenged to develop skills and experience.She was highly professional, reliable, flexible and fun to work with – always a bonus when working on intensive projects, with lots to achieve in a minimal timescale. Artists taking part in the residential had a variety of learning and communication needs, which Sally took account of incredibly well within her clear and well-paced delivery style. Feedback from Sally’s sessions was excellent, and it was a joy to work collaboratively with Sally. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Sally and hope to be able to work with her again in the future.

Heather Stradling, Director, Zinc Arts

I just wanted to email you to say thank you for delivering such an interesting and useful training session. I found your training motivating and insightful, demonstrating that you clearly care about the experience of Deaf people."

Josephine Donohue, Learning and Development Projects Coordinator, UCLH 

Facilitation

Working with Sally has been a pleasure. She has been extremely supporting throughout the process of planning and delivery, open to suggestions, and able to adapt to changing situations easily. On completing a 2-year Arts Council funded programme, Zinc Arts worked with Sally to complete an residential evaluation of the project, bringing together all beneficiaries of the funding. We would recommend Sally as an experienced facilitator and evaluator. Thank you very much for your support.

Lyann Kennedy, Programme Director, Zinc Arts

I was thoroughly happy and satisfied with your chairing of the event, it really helped the day run smoothly and effectively. I want to take this opportunity once again to thank you for doing this.

Citizens Advice

Evaluation

Sally’s evaluation of our “Planting for Wellbeing” project enabled us to make a very positive report to our funders, which was very helpful to us in future funding bids. She built up a good rapport with the project participants and our staff, and we were very pleased with the presentation of the final evaluation. Sally writes well and makes good use of visual data and photos.

Share Community Ltd

Sally was the external evaluator for the Deaf Achieve Project for 3 years. She was able to respond well to deadlines and worked well alongside the project team to achieve a robust report at the end of the project. The evaluators role is important in not just making sure that the reports captures the project's successes, but that it also outlines the learning journey. This information is essential for any future bids.

Sue Mountford, Director of Services, Royal Association for Deaf People

Sally was commissioned to carry out research for our clients. She has a wealth of specialist knowledge pertaining to deaf people, and deaf culture. As such, she was ideally placed to complete the work, on time, and on budget. Sally has also carried out training work for Deafworks. She is always reliable and pleasant to work with. We always have very good feedback from clients when we work with her. The only thing stopping us from recommending Sally to others, is that we want her all to ourselves!

Laraine Callow, Deafworks

Sally produced an final evaluation report for our Big Lottery Fund Deaf Minority Advice project which came to an end in July 2010. She engaged well with staff, referrers and clients in order to obtain a view as to whether the key outcomes outlined in the original bid had been achieved. Sally produced a report of good quality which we were able to present to the funders, thus bringing the project to a satisfactory conclusion.

Rob Wilks, Director of Legal Services, Royal Association for Deaf People

Proofreading

Feedback from individual clients

Sally provided an excellent proofreading service for a specialist course that I was undertaking. I had to submit essays at very short notice. She was able to meet these deadlines, and provide a high level of service too. Her academic background was an extra bonus, this meant that she had an advantage in understanding of my area of study. I would recommend Sally to anyone who needs a great proofreader!

Sally has been a great assistance at work helping to polish-up my English for the work environment. Her support was funded by the Government 'Access to Work' scheme, which I think is of huge benefit for deaf people who wish to climb the career ladder. She has been very patient and is able to communicate in BSL, my first and preferred language and accommodate my busy work demands."

Sally has a high standard of literacy skills, she provided me with an excellent translation service for my formal letters and reports. She has a great understanding of health barriers that deaf people face. This was particularly important, because a high proportion of my client's work involved making formal complaints through the NHS system. I have always found Sally very professional to work with. She comes highly recommended!

Faced with a very difficult job to produce specialist reports for a review, I needed a turnaround of less than 48 hours to proof read my documents. Sally understood the time constraints I was under and was able to achieve this. I was very impressed with the work completed, it was of a very high standard and professionally edited. I was provided with a seamless service at an incredibly competitive price. I would not hesitate to recommend Sally to others, and have continued to use this service since - thank you so much, it is a relief to have a deaf professional who understands deaf professional’s needs.

Contact

I have CRB clearance and professional indemnity insurance. A strict confidentiality policy is followed at all times. Terms and conditions can be provided on request.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me for a no obligation initial consultation, or for a quote.

I am happy to communicate via email or remotely using Zoom.

Email: info@sally-reynolds.com
Phone: 07984 281235 (SMS)
Skype: salreyn
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