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How can we make our resources more accessible to the deaf community? That is the question Met Office staff have been discussing with members of the Deaf Academy.  

Through online and in-person workshops, we have been working with students to develop a greater understanding of their needs and preferences when it comes to information about weather and climate. 

Mark Stocks, the Academy’s partnership and community manager said: “Sometimes people don’t communicate with a deaf person, as they are afraid of getting that communication wrong. So through these sessions, we aim to reassure people and give them the tools they need to take away that fear.” 

The workshop included the students delivering a British Sign Language (BSL) workshop to participants, which included a section on popular meteorological terms. 

Deaf Academy student Hugh, 24, said it was “important to teach deaf awareness to hearing people in order to help them understand deaf culture”, and Timothy, 19, said the community needed to “feel included in a hearing world” because “it helps ensure the two communities are more integrated.” 

The students also talked about how they receive their news and weather, as well as looking at various Met Office content and discussing how they could be improved to make them even more accessible.  

Susan Ward-Rice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist Partner at the Met Office said: “We are continuously striving to be as inclusive as possible with everyone we engage with, whether that be through our recruitment or the content we produce.  

“I found the awareness sessions engaging, educational and informative. It’s been really useful to show some of our communications content to the students and find out how we can make our resources even more accessible and inclusive to members of the D/deaf community.” 

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