Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a British Sign Language GCSE.

The department is in the process of developing a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE. This landmark GCSE is an important step towards greater recognition of BSL as a language and will foster better communication between Deaf and hearing communities.

The department published subject content for the BSL GCSE in December 2023. Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, is developing assessment arrangements and will launch a technical consultation on this in due course.