Insight: The difference between working as a communication support worker and an interpreter (BSL)

I qualified as BSL-English interpreter a few years ago. Prior to this I had worked at a school and also a college as a communication support worker.

I wanted to write this blog to clarify the difference between the two roles as I often see them getting mixed up. There are also stereotypes about each one and assumptions as well.

I would firstly like to say that I don’t have a preference between the roles and I think both are very valuable roles to carry out. But I do feel that there are distinct differences in what the roles contain and also what people expect of them.

I can only use examples from my own experience and I have to say that this won’t be the same for everyone.

As a communication support worker in school college I was expected to relay information from the tutor to the student. I used various ways to do this. I used British Sign language, sign supported English and also written notes and visual aids. It was always my intention to ensure that my student understood the information that was being relayed to them.

As a result of working closely together over a period of years in the same environment I naturally formed a bond with the students and was proud to see what they achieved at the end of their study.

Generally speaking, however, I do feel that communication support workers are generally very underpaid for the amount of work and the responsibility that they have.

Communication support workers are often asked to “interpret” in several scenarios even when their BSL proficiency isn’t up to scratch and they’re not qualified interpreters. This creates a huge pressure.

I also see a wide variety of abilities and proficiency when it comes to sign language in the communication support worker network.

It is sad to say that you don’t always have to have a level three BSL to become a communication support worker. As a result deaf students get a wide range of experiences when it comes when it comes to support in education.

I have also known cases in school where communication support workers do not even have a level one BSL and they are asked to support a deaf child.

In the world of interpreting, naturally there’s a much higher expectation of your proficiency of BSL and also your overall professionalism.

With interpreting there is also a certain degree of separateness between the interpreter and a client that you don’t get with a communication support worker and the student.

An interpreter may know nothing about you when they turn up for a job. An interpreter may not have any connection to you at all. As a result sometimes interpreters can be labelled as being cold, stand offish or aloof.

But this isn’t the case at all. Working in various locations often over the course of a day, it is impossible to spend time getting to know a client in detail, often a brief introduction is all we have before we begin the job.

I also feel that interpreters are highly skilled at what they do. The level of mental processing that they carry out – and sometimes in very high pressured environments-  is enormous.

It would be impossible for an interpreter to carry out a high-quality efficient service if they became emotionally attached to every single client. This is especially true for those working in environments such as hospitals, police stations or courts.

Unfortunately there have been times when a CSW has been booked for a medical appointment at a hospital especially if an interpreter could not be found. Given the seriousness of the situation and responsibility here, I find this to be incredibly dangerous. There are certain jobs that only professional interpreters should do.

I have also seen interpreters being booked to support students in college and being taken aback by the directness of questions asked at them by the students and the intimate nature of supporting someone so closely.

The CSW’s I’ve worked with are generally very caring and hardworking and always have the pupils best interests at heart, often going above and beyond.

Likewise my interpreter colleagues are fantastic at what they do and it’s a community I really enjoy being part of.

On the whole I hope people making bookings for deaf students and deaf clients realise that CSW’s are not interpreters and vice versa. Each role has a unique skill set and each role is valuable in its own right.

Please don’t confuse the two or send the wrong person to a job. This is not only stressful for the person booked to work but also potentially damaging for the deaf person involved.

This blog has been written anonymously as part of the Insight series – where readers are invited to share their story or news about their interesting job with The Limping Chicken. If you have a story to share please email rebecca@rawithey.com 

Image courtesy of i-stock photos.