Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the potential merits of including basic sign language in the social skills curriculum.
Answered by Robin Walker
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had discussions with my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Women and Equalities, on including basic sign language in a social skills curriculum.
The government does not set out guidance on a social skills curriculum for schools in England and there are no plans to make British Sign Language (BSL) part of the statutory curriculum. The statutory curriculum, including the national curriculum, is just one element in the wide-ranging education of every child which makes up the broader school curriculum.
Schools are free to offer BSL as part of their wider school curriculum, to meet the needs of their pupils if they wish.
The department is working with Ofqual and subject experts to develop subject content for a British Sign Language GCSE. We aim to consult publicly on the draft subject content in autumn 2022.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to publish proposals for the GCSE in British Sign Language; and what his timetable is for including that subject in the National Curriculum.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department is aiming to introduce a GCSE in British Sign Language (BSL) as soon as possible, if it meets the rigorous requirements that apply to all GCSEs. Officials are currently working closely with subject experts and Ofqual to develop the draft subject content. The department plans to consult publicly on the draft content later this year.
There are no current plans to make BSL a compulsory part of the national curriculum. Schools are free to teach BSL as part of their school curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase awareness in schools of (a) British Sign Language, (b) Welsh, (c) Ulster Scots, (d) Irish, (e) Shelta, (f) Cornish, (g) Polish, (h) Punjabi, (i) Urdu, (k) Arabic and (l) other languages used in the UK.
Answered by Robin Walker
Education is a devolved matter, and the response will outline the information for England only. The government is committed to increasing the number of pupils studying languages at GCSE, including languages that are reflected in modern Britain. That is why the teaching of languages is in the national curriculum for pupils from age 7 to 14, and why GCSE languages were included as part of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) suite of subjects in 2010. There are eighteen GCSEs in modern languages that are recognised in the EBacc, including Arabic, Polish, Punjabi, and Urdu.
The department also remains committed to reforming the subject content for French, German and Spanish GCSEs in order to make them more well-rounded for both teachers and pupils, focusing on the foundational building blocks of language education, namely vocabulary, phonics and grammar. We will publish this new content shortly.
In addition, the department continues to work on developing a GCSE in British Sign Language and aim to consult publicly on draft subject content next year.
It is ultimately for schools to decide which languages they wish to teach, and the department does not specify which languages should be taught or how to teach them.