Gladiators star Fury inspired by visit to Liverpool NSPCC

Gladiators star Jodie Ounsley met with local children and NSPCC staff in Liverpool to learn about how the charity supports children from the deaf community.

Athlete, presenter and author Jodie, also known as Fury in the hit TV series, watched a British Sign Language (BSL) choir from Knotty Ash Primary School, Liverpool, and the Deafness Resource Centre in St Helens.

Jodie, who was fitted with a cochlear implant at 14 months old, and is currently learning BSL, even joined the choir signing This Is Me, from The Greatest Showman soundtrack, alongside NSPCC staff and volunteers and parents.

As well as joining the choir at the NSPCC Hargreaves Centre, in Great Homer Street, the Gladiator had a tour of the hub and met with Direct Services and Childline staff and volunteers.

Over the past year, the NSPCC local campaigns team worked with Knotty Ash Primary School’s specialist Deaf unit, the Deafness Resource Centre and parents, carers and community members on a local campaign called In Safe Hands, launching online safety resources and posters for the d/Deaf community.

The Childline website has a Deaf Zone where there are a number of subtitled and BSL videos, including one on how to contact Childline when you are d/Deaf.

Jodie said:

“It has been eye-opening and refreshing to see the work that really goes on and the people who are volunteering to do it, helping people in general, but also the deaf community.

“It has warmed my heart knowing that kids are able to get the help that they need, through the NSPCC and Childline.

“In the deaf community, it’s more about realising that the help is there. It’s getting better, because I think for so long the deaf community felt quite isolated and, to be honest, a bit tired of constantly fighting for stuff.

“In this day and age, social media and being online are a huge part of everyone’s lives, and it can be a really positive thing at times. But it can also be really negative and quite a dark place, and especially for young kids, their brains are just like sponges, they’re just taking everything in. And this can really affect their mindset and their mental health.

“Having this kind of advice and guidance for children, and adults, who use BSL will really help.”

NSPCC Local Campaigns Manager, Mubashar Khaliq, said:

“Jodie attending the hub has been such a key moment in our journey to promote safety for children in the deaf community.

“We hope what we’ve done regionally will leave a lasting legacy for children and also help promote national resources like Childline’s Deaf Zone.”

Kath Sweeney, Head of the Deaf Resource Base at Knotty Ash Primary School, said:

“Having Jodie at the hub has been absolutely brilliant because you know, for our children, our mantra is always you need to see it to be it and to see a deaf adult who’s as successful as Jodie is just inspirational for the children.

“The NSPCC campaigning around this issue has been absolutely stellar for us locally. That’s the only way that we can describe it, because they’ve been so open to the needs of our children. It’s been a learning journey for all of us.

“They’ve really taken on board the needs of the deaf children who will be BSL users and how many barriers are needlessly in their way. And they’ve done everything in their power to be able to remove those barriers by creating these fantastic resources.”

The children from Knotty Ash Primary School and teenagers from the Deafness Resource Centre performed their songs in front of Jodie using BSL with enthusiasm and pride.

Sam Holgate, aged 16, said:

“I’ve really enjoyed it! It was super fun and exciting. I loved meeting Fury—she was so kind and smiley—and it felt really special to share our language with everyone.

“It made me feel proud because sometimes people don’t know much about BSL, but after today more will learn about it. I liked being part of something important, and it made me happy to see everyone working together. I hope we can do more days like this!”

Lucy Gray, 16, said:

“We want to see equal education for deaf and hard of hearing children. We should be able to learn the same things. These resources help with this.

“They’re helping me out and really to everyone that’s been involved in my life. I’m really thankful to the deaf community that I’ve been involved in this.”

Amy Holgate, 16, said:

“It was great performing, I felt a bit nervous at first, but then it got really exciting. It was so cool to be up there with everyone, and the music made me feel happy inside. It was nice that Jodie joined the choir—she’s a star. I liked seeing everyone smiling.”