Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to introduce a GCSE on British Sign Language.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

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. As is the usual process for introducing a qualification, the independent qualifications regulator, Ofqual, recently ran a public consultation on its proposed assessment arrangements and expects to confirm its decision on the qualification rules in autumn 2025. At this point, any exam board that chooses to offer the GCSE will be able to start developing specifications.