Deafway

Specialist Disability Care Servicesdeafway.org.uk

Deafway is a UK-registered charity (founded 1894) that provides specialist residential care, BSL training, deaf awareness courses, and community programmes for D/deaf adults across Lancashire and Great Britain.

Company typePrivate
Founded1894
HeadquartersPreston, United Kingdom
Headcount51–100
GTM typeB2B and B2C
OfferingServices

What Deafway does

Deafway is a UK-registered charity (Charity No: 1089918) headquartered in Preston, Lancashire, with a secondary site in Lancaster and a remote service footprint across Lancashire. Founded in 1894 (originally as The Royal Cross School for the Deaf and NELWAD, merged 1990 as The Mary Cross Trust, and renamed Deafway in 2003), the organisation provides specialist residential and support services for 25 full-time D/deaf adults with complex needs including mental health challenges, learning disabilities, sight loss, personality disorders, and autism. Five self-contained residential houses on the Preston site, including the higher-staffing Stephen Bannister House (opened December 2012), deliver long-term, short-term, respite, and 1:1 staffing models, with services commissioned by UK local authorities, health services, and probation services across Great Britain. The charity is CQC-registered with an overall Good rating (assessed 18 October 2024).

Deafway firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Deafway
Legal name: Deafway
Website: https://deafway.org.uk
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1894
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 51–100 employees
Short description: Deafway is a UK-registered charity (founded 1894) that provides specialist residential care, BSL training, deaf awareness courses, and community programmes for D/deaf adults across Lancashire and Great Britain.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Deafway industry classification

Industry

Product category: Specialist Disability Care Services
NAICS: Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Translation and Interpretation Services (541930)
SIC: Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050), Services-Educational Services (8200)
akta.pro primary industry: Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)
akta.pro secondary industry: Sign Language Learning Programs (ASL/BSL, etc.) (EDAMAFAM)

Keywords

Deaf residential care
Sign language training
Deaf awareness education
Specialist disability services
BSL interpreter support

Where Deafway is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Preston
HQ country: United Kingdom
HQ region: Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

Deafway business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B and B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

Public Sector Commissioning: Residential and support services are commissioned by local authorities, probation services, and health services across the country. This is the primary revenue stream for specialist care services.
Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations through JustGiving, workplace giving, match funding, club and society support, and trust/foundation grants.
Training Courses: BSL courses (Level 1, 2, 3) and Deaf Awareness Training offered to individuals and organisations for a fee.
Facilities Hire: Community hub, meeting rooms, and sports facilities available to hire to the community.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Other	Multi-year contract	Residential Care Services
Other	Monthly	BSL Level 1, 2, 3 Courses
Other	Pay-as-you-go	Deaf Awareness Training
Other	Pay-as-you-go	Facilities Hire

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Deafway product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Deafway provides specialist residential care for D/deaf adults with complex needs in Preston, Lancashire, supported by a BSL-fluent staff team under a formal BSL Communication Policy. The charity also delivers British Sign Language courses (Level 1-3) and Deaf Awareness Training to individuals and organisations, operates remote interpreter sessions via CoSign across Lancashire, and runs community programmes including deaf clubs and an accessible community garden.

Product overview

Deafway is a UK-registered charity (since 1894) providing a portfolio of services focused on achieving equal access for D/deaf people. The organisation operates from two primary locations in Lancashire (Preston and Lancaster) and offers residential care (25 full-time residents), British Sign Language training (BSL Level 1-3 and Intro courses), Deaf Awareness Training, Remote Interpreter Sessions via CoSign, Community Garden, Deaf Clubs, and Facilities to Hire. Key products include Residential & Support Services with Stephen Bannister House for 1:1 support, the International Deaf Arts Collection, and the Signed Voices oral history project. The organisation maintains CQC registration and Fundraising Regulator membership, operating under a BSL Communication Policy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Residential & Support Services Specialist residential care services in Preston, Lancashire for D/deaf adults with mental health challenges, learning disabilities, sight loss, and personality disorders. Provides long-term, short-term, and respite care with 1:1 staffing available. Commissioned by local authorities, probation services, and health services across Great Britain.
Stephen Bannister House (1:1 Support Services) Specialised residential house opened December 2012 for residents requiring greater level of staff support. Features high staff-to-resident ratio with training in individual specific needs management.
British Sign Language (BSL) Courses Sign language training courses from introductory level through to Level 3 certification. Includes Intro to BSL, Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 courses for hearing individuals and organisations.
Deaf Awareness Training

Quantifiable outcome

CQC overall rating: Good (18 October 2024)
+1 more outcomes

Companies that use Deafway

Customer profile

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Deafway technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Deafway partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supportive and minor.

CosigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCosign provides qualified BSL interpreter support for weekly remote sessions for all Deaf people across Lancashire. The service is funded by Deafway and available to support Deaf people contacting any organisation or service, translating letters, and making phone calls.
The Kirkby FoundationsupportiveOthersOne of the funders for the sensory room project at Deafway's residential facility.
PK Accommodation LtdsupportiveOthersOne of the funders for the sensory room project at Deafway's residential facility.
SuresitesupportiveOthersOne of the funders for the sensory room project at Deafway's residential facility.
Deafway Staff and Friends (Stilettos Night Fundraiser)supportiveOthersStaff and friends of Deafway who fundraised through a Stilettos Night fundraiser for the sensory room project.
Rotary Club of Preston GuildcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerChose Deafway as their charity for three years. They have the opportunity to visit their chosen project and see where their money is going.
Rotary Club of PrestoncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFollowed suit as Rotary Club of Preston Guild, choosing Deafway as their charity partner.
MorrisonssupportiveOthersDonor supporting the Deafway Community Garden project.
Chalk Cliff TrustsupportiveOthersDonor supporting the Deafway Community Garden project.
Age ConcernsupportiveOthersDonor supporting the Deafway Community Garden project.
WaitrosesupportiveOthersDonor supporting the Deafway Community Garden project.
Towe FamilylawsupportiveOthersDonor supporting the Deafway Community Garden project.
Laurus HomesupportiveOthersDonor supporting the Deafway Community Garden project.
Harris MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKyra Milnes, now a Trustee at Deafway, was involved with Deafway through her job at the Harris Museum for about 10 years.
Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeafway is a member of VODG, the representative body for voluntary organisations working with disabled people.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Deafway competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People): Large UK charity (formerly Action on Hearing Loss) covering the full breadth of hearing-loss services including research, campaigning, and community programmes. A broader incumbent in the same deaf-sector space, not focused on residential care.
Sense: Major UK charity supporting people with deafblindness and complex disabilities, including residential services. Comparable to Deafway in providing specialist residential support for complex communication needs, but at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

SignHealth: UK charity delivering healthcare, supported living, psychological therapies and advocacy for Deaf people, with BSL-fluent staff. Closest direct comparator to Deafway's residential and complex-needs services for the Deaf community.
Deafblind UK: UK charity providing specialist services, residential support and community programmes for people who are deafblind. Closely aligned to Deafway's specialist disability-residential and community-empowerment model.
Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD): UK charity providing specialist services for deaf people including advocacy, mental health support, and community programmes. Direct peer to Deafway's BSL-fluent specialist care and community engagement model, though focused more on London/South East.
CoSign (Sign Community Charity): UK charity providing BSL/English interpreting, advocacy and deaf community services in Lancashire. Direct peer as an interpreter-services and community-engagement partner that Deafway already works with for remote interpreter sessions.

Regional players

National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS): UK-wide charity supporting deaf children and their families with education, advocacy and information services. Adjacent to Deafway's mission but focused on the children's segment rather than adult residential care.

Emerging players

Signature (Sign Bilingual Consortium): UK awarding body for BSL qualifications and provider of deaf-awareness training. Directly comparable to Deafway's BSL Level 1-3 and Deaf Awareness Training courses, though operating as a national awarding/assessment body rather than regional charity.
Hft (Home Farm Trust): UK charity providing residential and supported living services for people with learning disabilities. Comparable to Deafway in delivering CQC-regulated residential care for complex needs, though broader learning-disability focus.
United Response: UK charity providing supported living and residential services for people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health needs. Comparable operating model to Deafway but without BSL/deaf-specific specialism.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Deafway compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance2 records

Deafway financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Deafway leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Deafway funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Deafway M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Deafway

What does Deafway do?

Is Deafway a public or private company?

Deafway is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Deafway founded?

Deafway was founded in 1894. It employs 51 to 100 people.

Where is Deafway based?

Deafway is headquartered in Preston, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.

How does Deafway make money?

Four revenue lines are on record. Public Sector Commissioning is the primary driver. The others are donations and Fundraising, training Courses and facilities Hire.

Who are Deafway's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People) and Sense. Direct peers are SignHealth, Deafblind UK, Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD) and CoSign (Sign Community Charity). National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Signature (Sign Bilingual Consortium), Hft (Home Farm Trust) and United Response.

Does Deafway have an API?

No public API is recorded for Deafway.

What industry is Deafway in?

Deafway's product category is Specialist Disability Care Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAM, Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech), with a secondary code of EDAMAFAM, Sign Language Learning Programs (ASL/BSL, etc.). Its NAICS code is 624120 and its SIC code is 8300.