Found: 1 Cross Party Group on Deafness Wednesday 6 December 2023 at 6.00pm to 7.30pm.
Asked by: Greene, Jamie (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - West Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to (a) promote the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in public spaces and (b) improve the availability of BSL education, in light of the aims of Sign Language Week, which takes place from 18 to 24 March 2024.
Answered by Gilruth, Jenny - Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of Sign Language Week in promoting British Sign Language (BSL) given its positive impact on both culture and community in Scotland. During this week the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills reiterated support of BSL and the Scottish Government’s commitments within the BSL National Plan 2023 – 2029.
In response to (a), the Scottish Government published the BSL National Plan 2023 – 2029 in November 2023. This plan sets out our approach to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, visit, work, and learn; it sets out 45 commitments across ten priority areas including health, education, and justice. The BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 also requires listed authorities to publish their own Authority Plans; they are our key partners in promoting the use of BSL in public spaces.
In response to (b), the Additional Support for Learning Act places education authorities under duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those affected by deafness. The level of support required, and input from a specialist teacher of deaf children and young people, will vary depending on a child’s individual needs. To support deaf children and young people the Scottish Government provides funding of £150,000 to The Scottish Sensory Centre to support staff training enabling effective support to deaf pupils. In addition, Education Scotland has developed a professional learning resource which seeks to support practitioners to engage more effectively with British Sign Language users. This can be found on their website at the following link: https://education.gov.scot/resources/good-practice-in-working-with-deaf-learners-their-parents-and-families-bsl-plan/
Education Scotland has published a BSL toolkit setting out the key national legislation and General Teaching Council for Scotland standards which practitioners should be aware of when working with BSL users. Information to help practitioners understand BSL, Deaf culture and identity is provided throughout the Toolkit alongside some of the key definitions and terms used when working with parents and families. You can view the Toolkit here: British Sign Language (BSL) - Toolkit for Practitioners | Resources | Education Scotland . Education Scotland also published resources to help families support their children’s learning, which can be found at: BSL | Parentzone Scotland | Education Scotland
Written Evidence Apr. 26 2024
Inquiry: Disability employmentFound: , this does not allow us to understand the divergent experiences of people with hearing loss, deafness
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote the inclusion of deaf people in sport.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including d/Deaf people.
That is why, through our arm's length body, Sport England, we have provided £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to support deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.
Sport England are also exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore these issues and suggest potential solutions.
The Government-funded School Games programme offers children the opportunity to take part in competitions in over 40 sports at local and regional level, including inclusive, modified versions of the sports. Since 2010, the School Games have offered 13.4 million participation opportunities for young people.
Outside of the school day, the £57 million investment in the Opening School Facilities programme allows schools to open their sport facilities outside of the core school hours. Up to 1350 schools across England have been targeted, with the funding aimed at having the most positive impact on their communities, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has supported a range of funding to help widen access to heritage. For example, in 2020 they supported Funky Kids to enable families of children with D/deafness or hearing impairments to take part in social activities that taught them about local heritage, traditions and skills passed down through generations.
Arts Councils across the UK are working together with the British Film Institute to launch a free, UK-wide arts access scheme, called ‘All-In’. The pilot of this scheme is set to launch in spring 2024. This scheme will operate across the UK in arts and cultural venues, for seamless, barrier-free booking which is responsive to individual circumstances and needs, including those who are d/Deaf.
DCMS investment is enabling important accessibility upgrades in cultural venues across the country, including via infrastructure grants to DCMS-sponsored cultural bodies. The joint DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, which is available to a wide range of museums and galleries across England, also has improvements to access and/or interpretation for visitors with disabilities as a core criterion. Recent grants have supported projects at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and the People’s History Museum in Manchester who are working with d/Deaf people, and other groups, to improve accessibility to their galleries and spaces.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce barriers to entry for young deaf people in (a) sport and (b) other activities.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including d/Deaf people.
That is why, through our arm's length body, Sport England, we have provided £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to support deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.
Sport England are also exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore these issues and suggest potential solutions.
The Government-funded School Games programme offers children the opportunity to take part in competitions in over 40 sports at local and regional level, including inclusive, modified versions of the sports. Since 2010, the School Games have offered 13.4 million participation opportunities for young people.
Outside of the school day, the £57 million investment in the Opening School Facilities programme allows schools to open their sport facilities outside of the core school hours. Up to 1350 schools across England have been targeted, with the funding aimed at having the most positive impact on their communities, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has supported a range of funding to help widen access to heritage. For example, in 2020 they supported Funky Kids to enable families of children with D/deafness or hearing impairments to take part in social activities that taught them about local heritage, traditions and skills passed down through generations.
Arts Councils across the UK are working together with the British Film Institute to launch a free, UK-wide arts access scheme, called ‘All-In’. The pilot of this scheme is set to launch in spring 2024. This scheme will operate across the UK in arts and cultural venues, for seamless, barrier-free booking which is responsive to individual circumstances and needs, including those who are d/Deaf.
DCMS investment is enabling important accessibility upgrades in cultural venues across the country, including via infrastructure grants to DCMS-sponsored cultural bodies. The joint DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, which is available to a wide range of museums and galleries across England, also has improvements to access and/or interpretation for visitors with disabilities as a core criterion. Recent grants have supported projects at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and the People’s History Museum in Manchester who are working with d/Deaf people, and other groups, to improve accessibility to their galleries and spaces.
Dec. 21 2023
Source Page: Freedom of Information responses from the MHRA - week commencing 11 July 2022Found: Reaction Name Total Fatal Ear disorders Ear disorders NEC Ear pain 1 0 Hearing losses Deafness
Found: 1 Cross Party Group on Deafness General meeting, Wednesday 6 September 2023 at 6.15pm.
Found: Cross -Party Group Annual Return Name of Cross -Party Group Cross -Party Group on Deafness Date
Found: 1 Cross -Party Group Annual Return Name of Cross -Party Group Cross -Party Group on Deafness
Mentions:
1: Maria Caulfield (Con - Lewes) has issued guidance on the topic of cochlear implants for children and adults with severe to profound deafness - Speech Link