September 3, 2025

Birmingham’s Deaf Youth Club Summer Recap!

An introduction to our Youth Club…

We run activities in Birmingham for D/deaf and hard of hearing children and young people aged 8 – 18 and their siblings. Our aim is to support children and young people’s development, increase their aspirations and increase their access to social and leisure activities, ensuring they have the same level of social life more readily available to their hearing peers.

Our specialist skilled team of staff and volunteers use a total communication approach, using British Sign Language (BSL), Sign Supported English, English and objects of reference to provide supportive, accessible events and activities designed to meet the needs of children within the Deaf community.

What did we get up to this summer?

Our brilliant Youth and Transitions Worker, Richard organised over 15 activities for our Youth Club across 3 weeks of the summer holidays! Richard was supported by 5 volunteers, 3 members of staff and BSL Interpreters to make sure the children were safe, supported and included each day.

Their first trip was to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens where they spent the morning walking the grounds, learning about the plants and enjoyed a picnic outdoors in the fresh air.

Next up, the group took a trip to the Black Country Living Museum which included a guided tour through the mines; they got to learn about the history and understand what life was like for miners! Each child was given a torch to help them navigate the dark mines and continue communicating in BSL with their peers.

As well as day trips, the club also got to enjoy a few days at our Deaf Cultural Centre (DCC) which is where they usually meet for their weekly club. We were visited by Sally from Sharper Arts who also regularly visits our Deaf community on a Friday. This was a great opportunity for the children to explore their creative side and build confidence in their skills (and also gives our staff and volunteers a chance to relax a little!).

We were visited once again by Fizz Pop Science who offer exciting science education which is accessible for everyone. These are interactive sessions which always have the children fully engaged and everyone had the opportunity to experiment, test theories and ask questions – lots of laughs too!

Other activities included a trip to our local cinema, the National Sea Life Centre to visit the penguins and ice skating at SnowDome!

It’s a great feeling to know our Youth Club was having fun each day, learning new skills and establishing long-lasting friendships with their peers while doing activities which are accessible for every single one of them. Many of our members have been attending our group for a few years now and it’s been a privilege to watch their confidence grow!

We had such a great summer and we’re already looking forward to 2026, but for now the children still get to enjoy weekly sessions at our DCC in Birmingham! If you’d be interested in your child attending this group, please get in touch with our Birmingham Children & Youth Services – we’d love to get them involved!

A special thank you!

Thank you to Richard Clatworthy for organising these activities to keep our Youth Club entertained over the summer – you did a fantastic job!

None of this would be possible without our wonderful team of volunteers and staff – Alex, Ellie, Monica, Sindeed, Sarah, Mandeep and Nabeela. Thank you for supporting Richard and ensuring every member of our Youth Club felt safe, included and had fun during each activity!

Also a massive thank you to our wonderful BSL Interpreters who provided seamless communication between external organisations and all of our D/deaf BSL users (staff, volunteers and youth members).

Contact our Youth Service

Interested in Volunteering?

These activities were funded by Bring it on Brum! as part of their Summer Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme designed for families in Birmingham to help children and young people have fun, active, and healthy school holidays.

They’ve helped us to provide activities to our children and young people to keep them active, having fun, being entertained and learning new things throughout the school summer holidays!