Andrew Plaster

About

My name is Andrew Plaster. I am profoundly deaf since birth. My parents are hearing. I attended at Rodford
Primary School (in Yate, South Gloucestershire), which has a hearing-impaired resource base and is about ten
miles away from my family home in Bristol. At the age of 11, I attended Burwood Park School, a deaf
secondary boarding school in Surrey. After that, I attended a Bristol college and later University of West
of England for a NHC Computer Studies course.

My jobs in last thirty years are various roles working in finance/accounting, computer programming, youth
work, administration, and teaching environments. I became interesting in teaching in 1994 when I observed staff training on Deaf Awareness. I then attended a four-day workshop for Deaf Awareness Trainers in
London. When I worked as Youth Development Officer for Hampshire Deaf Association, I taught Deaf Awareness to hearing youth clubs.

Since 1998, I have been teaching in part-time basis - British Sign Language Level 1 course at City of Bristol College (since 2008), Signite (2012-2013), BBC See Hear (Oct 2012 – July 2016) and Barton Hill Settlement (Feb to July 2010), and Deaf Awareness & Communication at City of Bristol College (1998 - 2006) and at various places for Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Adult Education Services (Jan 04 to Jun 05). All courses are based on Signature’s curricula.

I also have been freelance basis teaching short (half-day/one-day/two-day) courses on Deaf Awareness (since 2004) and Introduction to / Basic British Sign Language (since 2010) at various companies and organisations in all over UK for RNID, secondary schools for Signite and Deaf Sign Academy, and universities for I-Can- Sign Centre. Also occasional private tuition and teaching cover for ICS Centre (based at University of West of England) on British Sign Language Levels 1 and 2. I was a committee member involving with deaf people in various roles at different times – Bristol Young Peoples Club for Deaf & HOH (1989-97, 1999-2001), Management Committee of Bristol Deaf Centre (1990-96), Hearing Concern’s Young People Committee (1995-2002), and British Deaf Association’s Western Area Council (1993).

My personal interests are family history, local history and railways. I have researched my family histories since I was a boy. I am a member of Bristol & Avon Family History Society, of which I was the Hon. Editor three times. I wrote articles on parish history for its quarterly journals. I wrote two books on my family history – first one (90 page) in 2001, and the second one (347 page / 27 chapter) recently published in October 2010. The latter was successfully launched in a local chapel with 80 people attending, whom are my distant cousins ranging from second to thirteenth cousins. I
also undertake freelance family history research for clients. I think I am now a quite advanced family historian!