Young people want sign language to be on the national curriculum

MOST YOUNG people think that sign language should be taught in schools, according to a poll.

It suggests that the majority of youngsters would like to learn more British Sign Language (BSL), with many keen to see it offered as a GCSE subject.

The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), which published the findings to mark Deaf Awareness Week, said it wants BSL included in the school curriculum to “break down barriers” and to give every children the chance to learn it.

Overall, three in four of the more than 2,000 eight to 25-yearolds questioned said they know at least a little sign language, with more than a fifth of those polled (22%) saying that they know a lot.

More than nine in 10 (91 per cent) said they want to learn more – 94 per cent of hearing young people wanting to learn more compared with 85 per cent of deaf young people.

This gap may be down to the fact that some of the deaf youngsters questioned were already competent in the language.

Almost all (97 per cent) of those surveyed said sign language should be taught in schools, and 92 per cent said schools should offer BSL as a GCSE (a national 4 or 5 in Scotland), while 83 per cent said they would be interested in studying for it if this qualification was available.

NDCS chief executive Susan Daniels said: “Everyone in the UK, deaf or hearing, should have the opportunity to learn BSL, but most people miss out as it’s rarely taught in schools and private lessons are expensive.

“If we are to break down barriers to learning BSL, it must be included on the national curriculum.”