British Sign Language (BSL)
In 2003, the British Government recognised BSL as a language and in 2022 BSL was given the same status as other languages. There are currently 12 million people in the UK who have hearing loss and more than 800,000 are either severely or profoundly deaf. Many of these rely on BSL for communication. Each of these people are supported by family, friends and work/school so the actual number of people using BSL is considerably higher.
As a school community, we all agreed that we would like to introduce BSL to our curriculum. Governors, staff, children and parents/carers all voted strongly in favour of this change.
As a school with a number of deaf and hearing-impaired children, we are used to seeing trained staff signing in lessons, assemblies, playtimes, lunchtimes etc. What could be better than all children learning to sign? This makes a really inclusive school.
We have designed a signing curriculum that has clear progression from Reception to Year 6, ensuring children learn basic means of communication as well as specific vocabulary linked to their learning. Last year we introduced a Sign of the Week, and this will continue under the direction of our Teachers of the Deaf (ToDs). Children will be taught BSL signs throughout the week, with specific input from trained staff and plenty of regular consolidation. We have introduced BSL Leaders – children who have shown a strong aptitude for signing and who are able to support other children too. BSL Leaders can be deaf or hearing.
We are also keen for our hearing children to understand about the deaf community, deaf awareness and how BSL has developed. This will be included in the curriculum.
Our BSL Curriculum will start with an introductory year with subsequent years building on this, ensuring clear progression in acquiring the signs for every day conversations as well as some subject specific vocabulary. BSL is a visual language and it will support all children in their learning as it encourages them to be confident with their use of facial expressions and body language.
We have a member of staff who is a trained Signature Tutor. This means she is able to teach and assess the nationally recognised qualification in BSL at Level 1 and Level 2. Our aim is for our children to gain a BSL qualification by the time they leave our school. This could be the beginning of an exciting career later on in supporting deaf and hearing-impaired children.
