Press Release
The Association of British Sign Language Teachers and Assessors (ABSLTA) is proud to congratulate Wendy Daunt on being awarded an OBE in the King’s New Year Honours. This award recognises her amazing work in BSL education, her years of service at the Royal School for the Deaf, and her dedication to the Deaf community.
Our trustees and members are honoured to share their tributes to Wendy:
Stuart Parkinson, Trustee of ABSLTA, said:
“I had the pleasure of working with Wendy when we were both Trustees of the BDA. She truly deserves this honour. Wendy is down-to-earth, approachable, and wise, and she has made an incredible impact on the Deaf community.”
Emma Iliffe, Past Chair of ABSLTA, added:
“Wendy has always inspired me. She was also a trustee of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People when my mother, Winifred Tumim, was the chair. My mother spoke so highly of her!”
Steve Leece, member of ABSLTA, shared:
“Wendy deserves receiving an OBE for her incredible work. I look back to 1993 and remember how much I enjoyed working with Wendy and Jerry Hanifin. Wendy is one of my heroes, being Deaf and a BSL user. I have always looked up to her.
She set up CHASE Productions, which stands for Culture, History, Arts, Sign Language, and Education. It supported sign bilingual education at a time when there weren’t enough BSL resources. Wendy took the opportunity to develop resources from English books and articles for Deaf audiences, aiming them at schools, though they became widely used elsewhere. She also created BSL tutor groups and fantastic resources that are still useful today.
I want to say thank you to Wendy for supporting BSL and Deaf children so profoundly.”
Wendy has been a BSL and Deaf Studies teacher for many years, helping Deaf children express themselves through sign language. She has played a big role in Deaf education, bringing BSL into classrooms and creating bilingual teaching methods. Wendy also worked on over 400 BSL videos, a BSL dictionary, and a series about BSL with her friend and colleague Jerry Hanifin.
Wendy was also featured in Paddy Ladd’s book Seeing Through New Eyes: Deaf Culture and Deaf Pedagogies. Her work in Deaf education continues to inspire teachers and students today.
In 2022, Wendy joined the ABSLTA AGM and workshops at the City Lit building. She shared her knowledge of BSL linguistics, including a memorable example about role shifts with the Queen, her dog, and Paddington Bear.
Wendy’s outstanding support to ABSLTA over many years has helped us grow and thrive. Her energy and dedication have contributed to the growth of our membership, which has now risen to over 100 members. We are proud to provide support for BSL teachers and assessors by offering CPD opportunities, mentoring programmes, resources workshops, and our BSL Horizon conference to build better teaching practices.
ABSLTA recognises Wendy’s years of hard work in BSL education and her lasting impact on the Deaf community. We also know how important it is to support future generations of BSL teachers and assessors. That’s why we’ve worked closely with D&H Trailblazers to create a mentoring programme. This programme will help teachers support each other, improve BSL resources, and protect the BSL community for future generations.
On behalf of ABSLTA trustees and members, we thank Wendy for her incredible contributions and celebrate her achievements. She is an inspiration to us all.
A huge congratulations to Wendy Daunt on this well-deserved honour!