The Royal Association for Deaf people

Founded in 1841, RAD is the oldest organisation in England for Deaf adults.

RAD exists to promote the welfare and interests of Deaf people (by which we mean deaf people whose first or preferred language is sign language).

We work primarily with the Deaf community, but when relevant and appropriate with other people (e.g. deaf, deafened, hard of hearing, sign language students, etc.)

Values
Deaf and Hearing people are equal and should receive the same levels of opportunity, access and respect. Deaf people are only ‘disabled’ by the effects of discrimination and exclusion.

The Deaf community and Deaf culture are important to the sense of identity of individual Deaf people. British Sign Language is a language in its own right.

We believe in the principle of the empowerment of Deaf people and their organisations. We value Deaf Clubs as part of Deaf culture. We respect their independence and welcome opportunities to work with them.

We seek to provide a quality service that lets users and customers set standards and constantly seeks to improve.

We value staff and will ensure that they can work productively in a professional and safe environment with appropriately updated skills.

We recognise the value of partnerships and coordination of services, and will seek to avoid unnecessary duplication of services and unproductive competition.