About Us
Our Mission
At Sign Source, we want to create a more inclusive and informed society by offering excellent, high quality, engaging and accessible sign language learning solutions and resources for everyone.
Anthony Sinclair, Founder
Hello again,
My name is Anthony Sinclair and I am the founder of Sign Source. I love what I do. I am passionate about it. Teaching BSL and educating about deaf culture and awareness means the world to me.
I’ve been doing it for over 18-years and regularly talk about diversity, education, inclusion, leadership, and mental health.
Our teaching and the courses we design and produce, have helped hugely to improve accessibility for those who are deaf.
It’s so important in helping them to enjoy work, leisure time, have good mental health and quality of life.
As a profoundly deaf person born into a family dissuaded to use BSL, I understand the benefits of it and see it not just as my job but my vocation to do all I can to improve accessibility for deaf people.
I’m a qualified teacher with a PGCE in teaching sign language and have taught in schools throughout the UK for almost two decades.
Throughout my career, I have contributed extensively to enrichment and Personal Development and Learning for Life and Work programmes of many schools.
I would describe my style as fun and informal – educative, entertaining, and informative.
In my spare time, when I’m not designing new sign language courses, teaching BSL to individuals and teams across multiple business sectors, raising cultural awareness, I’m a sports fan.
Sport is a great connector. That’s why we run summer camps and after-schools clubs in sport and sign language for primary and secondary schools where all kids can come and learn.
As a qualified LTA Senior Club Coach, I have extensive experience in coaching deaf athletes, working with deaf children and adults in partnership with hearing coaches.
My claim to fame is a gold medal for tennis at the Deaflympics. I was also ranked third in Ireland as a junior tennis player and played football for Reading Youth.
I suppose I’ve always had a competitive edge and have the same ambition for Sign Source.
My goal, through the business, is to make it as easy as possible for everyone to learn sign language and ensure it is either free or affordable and accessible to all.
Kristina Laverty
Hi, I’m Kristina Laverty, Anthony’s wife, and a Registered Language Interpreter.
If you live in NI, you may have seen me on TV and at the NI Executive providing support through BSL for the NI deaf community during Covid.
There are 4,500 BSL users in NI; that’s quite a community with a further 1,500 using Irish Sign Language.
My role, using BSL was to translate the daily coronavirus briefings, part of which meant developing a new language to describe concepts such as social distancing and the ‘R’ rate.
It was a frightening and stressful time for everyone, so I wanted to do the best I could to communicate these critical messages clearly with the deaf community.
It was tennis at the age of 10 that brought Anthony and I together.
I met him playing for the Ulster Squad when we were kids. He left to go to boarding school in England and that’s the last I saw of him until he came back to see family age 25.
He never went back to England after that. We are married with three beautiful children, Patrick, Charlie and Kate.
The kids all use BSL to communicate with their dad. Bedtime story telling is always a pleasure to watch.
I passionately believe, all children should learn BSL when they are young; the younger the better and it should be a mandatory part of the primary school curriculum. That’s the right and only way to do it.
I first became interested in learning BSL when I was studying as an undergraduate in English Literature so used my free time to pick up skills in a new language. I then went on to do my postgraduate in interpreting in England.
As well as supporting Anthony’s work at Sign Source, I’m part of a small team of just 40 full-time BSL interpreters in NI. My job is varied and takes me into all walks of life, hospitals, offices, prisons, and court rooms.
It’s a great job with lots of benefits. I’d encourage anyone to think about learning BSL and becoming an interpreter.
It’s definitely growing in popularity and more companies and organisations are understanding the value of corporate diversity and inclusivity strategies.
Meet The Kiddos
We introduced our kids to BSL from the moment they were born. The younger you start them, the better. It has added layers of language, culture and experience to their little lives and is a joy to behold.
BSL isn’t something the children have learned or are aware of. It comes so naturally to them and is a way of life.
They have many deaf friends. Seeing them switch so easily and BSL is incredible because they do it so freely.
They ask a lot of questions and are aware of the oppression signed languages have faced and have become our biggest supporters and allies.
Their understanding and empathy is incredible and although Anthony is the only deaf person in the family our home language is BSL so we can all communicate as a family.
The kids are super sporty too with both boys spending most of their free time on some court or pitch.