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At long last, the BSL GCSE moves closer

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The British Deaf Association (BDA) welcomes [br]today’s launch of a new official consultation

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on the long-promised GCSE in [br]British Sign Language (BSL),

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and applauds the long-awaited progress [br]toward recognition and equality in education.

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Deaf CEO Rebecca Mansell -

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“Let’s be clear, it’s a step in the right [br]direction, but there is much further to go,”

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"After a lengthy period of silence from the[br]authorities, we appreciate this development"

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The BDA statement comes in response to [br]this week’s announcement that Ofqual has

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launched a further ‘technical’ consultation [br]on the British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE.

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Whilst the GCSE’s content has already [br]passed through a 2023 consultation led by

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the Department for Education (DfE), [br]this week’s initiative focuses on examination

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and assessment procedures.

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“Only last month in Parliament, [br]during Sign Language Week (17-23 March),

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MPs from the new All-Party Parliamentary [br]Group on BSL quizzed the Minister for Disabled People,

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Sir Stephen Timms MP, on the ongoing [br]delay with the GCSE,” points out Mansell.

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“Sir Stephen spoke of the government’s ‘[br]continuing commitment’ and of being

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‘generally reassured about the progress that’s [br]been made and the commitment to deliver’.”

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The BDA remains concerned about the long [br]delays in the development of the new BSL GCSE.

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The previous government target for [br]“first teaching” was September 2025,

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and the BDA believes that this [br]target will be missed by two years.

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The reasons for this delay are unclear. [br]Whilst the BDA has been expressing the

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BSL community’s concerns about the [br]GCSE project for many years,

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it took Ofqual until this month to directly [br]ask to meet the BDA – which is recognised

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up to United Nations level as the [br]UK’s representative organisation for the

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signing Deaf community –[br]for one-to-one talks.

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“Almost everything has happened behind [br]closed doors,” Mansell notes pointedly.

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“And here we are, with even Ofqual [br]acknowledging that an award promised

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in 2018 will not actually result in anyone [br]receiving a certificate until 2029 at the earliest!”

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“BSL is a rich and complex language, [br]different in many respects to the spoken

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languages already studied at GCSE level. [br]We appreciate DfE’s and Ofqual’s diligent

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work to get the GCSE right. It’s a challenge [br]to schools and examination boards.

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But it’s really not rocket science.”

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The BDA has repeatedly highlighted the [br]significant potential for Deaf teachers to be

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afforded a leading role in the delivery of[br]BSL GCSEs, in keeping with the spirit of

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the 2022 BSL Act which received all-party [br]support in Parliament. It notes that Deaf people

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been firmly at the forefront of BSL [br]teaching in adult education since

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BDA itself trained a generation of[br]BSL teachers at Durham University

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in the 1980s – a programme taught by [br]Deaf people to Deaf people entirely in BSL.

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In this light, four decades have passed[br]in which Deaf linguistic and cultural

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expertise in the teaching profession [br]has been acknowledged and promoted.

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“Now,” says Mansell, “we face an unclear [br]roll-out of the GCSE – if indeed we ever

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there – with every school at liberty to [br]offer BSL courses but no programme in place

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to build a sustainable Deaf-led workforce. [br]Who will teach our language to the highest

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quality if not Deaf people [br]who are fluent in it?”

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The BDA stresses its willingness to [br]support the relevant authorities

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clear throughout, and that it will continue [br]to press for a timely, high-quality GCSE

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that protects and promotes BSL as a [br]vibrant language, respects the long-term

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of the Deaf community, and secures [br]the contributions of Deaf professionals.