As part of Deaf Awareness Week 2022 we take a look at inclusion in education for deaf children, and whether British Sign Language should be taught in schools
British Sign Language is not a part of the national curriculum, but with over 50,000 deaf children in the UK many argue that it should be (
Image: Birmingham Post and Mail)
This week is Deaf Awareness Week, every year the event has a different theme and 2022’s theme is Deaf Inclusion.
This year’s Deaf Awareness Week will highlight the impact of hearing loss on everyday life and aims to increase the visibility and inclusion of Deaf people.
Just one of the aspects of inclusion that will take focus is inclusion in education.
British Sign Language (BSL) was recognised as an official language nearly two decades ago in 2003, but despite this, it’s still not a part of the national curriculum.
As the language becomes increasingly popular, with there now being over 150,000 BSL users in the UK, there have been more calls for sign language to be taught in schools.
Could sign language become a part of the curriculum?
Sign language isn’t a part of the curriculum but schools can choose to teach it
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Image:
Birmingham Post and Mail)
Many think that BSL should be taught in schools and several petitions to make BSL part of the National Curriculum have received over 30,000 signatures.
But the government has still made no move to do this, and in response to the petitions they said: “BSL was recognised as a language in its own right by the UK government in 2003. Whilst it is not a mandatory part of the curriculum, schools are free to teach it if they choose to do so.”
Despite not being a part of the curriculum, however, some schools are making the choice to teach BSL.
The Ivy Learning Trust, a group of ten primary schools in Enfield and South Hertfordshire, recently announced that they’ve made the decision to teach BSL in all of their schools after seeing the positive impact lessons had on children at Brimsdown Primary School.
Speaking about the benefits of learning BSL, Trust leader Matthew Kleiner-Mann said: “Numerous studies have highlighted the positive impact of learning sign language: it can improve vocabulary, fine motor skills and self-esteem, and has been linked to a higher reading age of up to two years.
“We’ve seen evidence of these sorts of benefits first-hand at Brimsdown.”
Shocking disparities in support for deaf children
By teaching sign language in schools, deaf …….
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/teaching-sign-language-in-schools-26868495