Asked by: Lord Bruce of Bennachie (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce British Sign Language into the curriculum in England as a GCSE subject; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Department for Education and Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, have received a proposal for a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE from the exam board Signature.
All GCSEs need to meet certain subject content and assessment requirements. The department is now developing draft BSL GCSE subject content, which will be considered against the subject content criteria requirements that apply to all GCSEs. If these expectations are met and a BSL GCSE is ready to be introduced, the department will then consider whether to make an exception to our general rule that there should be no new GCSEs in this Parliament. It is too early to say how long this process might take.
Asked by: Lord Bruce of Bennachie (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to offering British Sign Language as a language choice for examination in the national curriculum.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Although there are no plans to introduce any new GCSEs in this Parliament, the government is open to considering a proposal for a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE for possible introduction in the longer term. We have indicated this to Signature, the awarding organisation proposing to develop a GCSE in BSL, and the National Deaf Children’s Society.
Any new GCSE would need to meet the rigorous expectations for subject content, which are set by the department. It would also need to meet the expectations for assessment and regulatory requirements, which are set by Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator. The department and Ofqual will consider carefully any proposals put forward in due course.