British Sign Language: GCSE
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of additional qualified teachers of the deaf required to deliver the new GCSE in British Sign Language; and what steps she is taking to address the shortfall of 200 teachers identified by the National Deaf Children's Society.
Answered by Department for Education
The British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE is a key feature of our commitment to enhancing the status of BSL in education and society.
Following the publication of Ofqual's final qualification rules, awarding organisations are now able to develop detailed specifications that will form the basis of the content taught in schools and colleges. These specifications will need to be accredited by Ofqual before the GCSE can be made available for delivery.
We are working closely with stakeholders from the deaf community and across the school sector to discuss and develop workforce options so that school leaders can access a high-quality teaching workforce when this new GCSE is taught in schools.
Teachers who teach a class of pupils who are deaf are required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment. Teachers that work peripatetically to support deaf children should also hold the qualification. Alongside the academic route, there is a sensory impairment apprenticeship, offering a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people who have a hearing impairment.
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