The following is the UK Government’s response to a petition calling for British Sign Language lessons to be taught in all schools. :
The Government has been aware of the renewed campaigning around the status of British Sign Language (BSL) and recognises the need to raise general awareness of British Sign Language for those families with hearing impaired (HI) children.
This is why we announced earlier this year that a grant of £800,000 would be made available to conduct pilots looking at innovative ways to improve British Sign Language provision and status for families of deaf and hearing impaired children and young people.
Organisations or consortiums bidding were invited to submit bids with proposals looking specifically at:
- increasing awareness of British Sign Language and choice for families with deaf and hearing impaired children to learn and communicate using BSL;
- increasing demand from the children’s workforce to improve BSL skills, including to higher levels, to meet the needs of BSL users and ultimately improve Every Child Matters outcomes;
- increasing the availability of BSL tutors, courses and interpreters, including to higher levels;
- demonstrating how existing centres of excellence in BSL, such as deaf special schools, specialist units in mainstream schools or BSL course providers, can play a key role in achieving the project’s aims; and
- demonstrating how progress can be sustainable beyond the project’s life within the current and planned early years, schools and post-16 funding arrangements and disability legislation requirements on service providers.
A preferred bidder has now been identified and the department is currently in negotiations with them, we hope to be able to make a further announcement in September.
Excellent news, IMO! If only SignLabs had been around earlier… maybe we could have got a slice of that £800K! hehe
