Sign Language: GCSE

(asked on 14th March 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has held with (a) examination boards, (b) teachers, (c) students and (d) other stakeholders on the creation of a GCSE in British Sign Language; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 20th March 2018

I held a meeting on 12 March with interested MPs and representatives from a leading charity within the field, and have scheduled another meeting with that charity and further interested MPs on 20 March. During frequent visits to schools I engage with teachers and students and discuss a range of topics including sign language.

The Government has introduced a number of recent changes to GCSEs, AS and A levels in England that will affect schools in the coming years. We know that extensive changes need time to settle in, and that school leaders will want stability to bring in the new qualifications. There are no plans to introduce new GCSEs, AS or A levels in this Parliament.

Schools are free to teach British Sign Language and there are existing qualifications available which schools can enter pupils into at any point of their school career. These include a Level 1 award, Level 2, 3 and 4 certificates and a Level 6 NVQ certificate. British Sign Language is also now an alternative to a Level 1 and Level 2 qualification in English when studying an apprenticeship, where British Sign Language is the apprentice’s primary language. This enables those who use British Sign Language to complete their apprenticeship without having to achieve another English qualification, such as GCSE or Functional Skills.

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