Work Experience with Braidwood School for the Deaf

LM’s teams have committed to engaging with all communities and providing opportunities for schools and colleges to develop their skills. Birmingham is home to a large deaf community and boasts both primary and senior school provision for the deaf.

Part of LM’s wider community engagement plan is to provide opportunities to gain skills and education in the STEM sector.

The team identified Braidwood School as being near the route and recognised an opportunity to build new relationships within the community. Having approached the school, a work experience programme was agreed.

The project has been beneficial for both LM and the school. The team has engaged with a community that does not use English as their first language, providing opportunities to learn new skills and find out about HS2.

Adopting a proactive approach to engage with what was perceived to be a hard-to-reach community has developed a long lasting and positive new relationship, delivering advocacy for the project and beyond.

The first of many work experience visits provided knowledge for both LM and the school. LM had the opportunity to learn key phrases in BSL, whilst three teenagers developed new skills, increased their confidence and learnt about the project.