A British Sign Language GCSE is one step closer to being taught in schools as the Government launches a consultation on the content of the subject.
The Government is aiming for the British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE to be first taught to pupils in England from September 2025.
Views on the qualification – including the language skills to be studied and the role of history – are being sought from teachers, employers and the deaf and hearing communities in a 12-week consultation.
In 2018, the Government said it would consider introducing a GCSE in BSL after deaf schoolboy Daniel Jillings campaigned for the new qualification and his family launched a legal challenge to get one instated as quickly as possible.
It is understood that the development of the GCSE was delayed due to the pandemic.
The Department for Education (DfE) said it had been working with subject experts, stakeholders and schools to develop proposed content to ensure that the new BSL GCSE was internationally recognised.
