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The British Deaf Association (BDA) welcomes
today’s launch of a new official consultation
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on the long-promised GCSE in
British Sign Language (BSL),
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and applauds the long-awaited progress
toward recognition and equality in education.
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“Let’s be clear, it’s a step in the right
direction, but there is much further to go,”
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signs Deaf CEO Rebecca Mansell. “
After a lengthy period of silence from
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the authorities, we appreciate this
development.”
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The BDA statement comes in response to
this week’s announcement that Ofqual has
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launched a further ‘technical’ consultation
on the British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE.
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Whilst the GCSE’s content has already
passed through a 2023 consultation led by
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the Department for Education (DfE),
this week’s initiative focuses on examination
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and assessment procedures.
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“Only last month in Parliament,
during Sign Language Week (17-23 March),
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MPs from the new All-Party Parliamentary
Group on BSL quizzed the Minister for Disabled People,
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Sir Stephen Timms MP, on the ongoing
delay with the GCSE,” points out Mansell.
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“Sir Stephen spoke of the government’s ‘
continuing commitment’ and of being
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‘generally reassured about the progress that’s
been made and the commitment to deliver’.”
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The BDA remains concerned about the long
delays in the development of the new BSL GCSE.
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The previous government target for
“first teaching” was September 2025,
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and the BDA believes that this
target will be missed by two years.
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The reasons for this delay are unclear.
Whilst the BDA has been expressing the
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BSL community’s concerns about the
GCSE project for many years,
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it took Ofqual until this month to directly
ask to meet the BDA – which is recognised
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up to United Nations level as the
UK’s representative organisation for the
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signing Deaf community –
for one-to-one talks.
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“Almost everything has happened behind
closed doors,” Mansell notes pointedly.
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“And here we are, with even Ofqual
acknowledging that an award promised
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in 2018 will not actually result in anyone
receiving a certificate until 2029 at the earliest!”
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“BSL is a rich and complex language,
different in many respects to the spoken
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languages already studied at GCSE level.
We appreciate DfE’s and Ofqual’s diligent
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work to get the GCSE right. It’s a challenge
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
significant potential for Deaf teachers to be
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afforded a leading role in the delivery of
BSL GCSEs, in keeping with the spirit of
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the 2022 BSL Act which received all-party
support in Parliament. It notes that Deaf people
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been firmly at the forefront of BSL
teaching in adult education since
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BDA itself trained a generation of
BSL teachers at Durham University
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in the 1980s – a programme taught by
Deaf people to Deaf people entirely in BSL.
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In this light, four decades have passed
in which Deaf linguistic and cultural
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expertise in the teaching profession
has been acknowledged and promoted.
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“Now,” says Mansell, “we face an unclear
roll-out of the GCSE – if indeed we ever
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there – with every school at liberty to
offer BSL courses but no programme in place
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to build a sustainable Deaf-led workforce.
Who will teach our language to the highest
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quality if not Deaf people
who are fluent in it?”
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The BDA stresses its willingness to
support the relevant authorities
