24/07/2008

A new website is being launched which is aimed at helping deaf children improve their literacy skills.

The site, called Signed Stories, is being developed by Gateshead-based ITV Signpost after statistics from the National Deaf Society revealed the disparity between the GCSE results of deaf and hearing children, reports The Journal.

Just 33 per cent of deaf children achieve five GCSE A-C grades compared with 60 per cent of hearing children, which ITV Signpost managing director Malcolm Wright describes as 'scandalous'.

A total of 100 contemporary children's books will be put online in British Sign Language and will feature animation, text and audio recorded by the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, with 200 more to be added by 2011.

'The world that these children live in is dominated by the English language and it can take a long time for parents to learn sign language and interact with their children,' said Mr Wright.

'Hopefully our site will help combat this and give deaf children a boost with their literacy skills.'

ITV Signpost is the UK's largest provider of on-screen British Sign Language and provides services for every platform, including television, DVD and the internet.

The company is part of ITV.