British Sign Language GCSE consultation delayed to ‘early 2023’ with plans to teach from 2025

The consultation on draft subject content for a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE has been delayed again to early 2023, The Limping Chicken understands.

The sign language awarding body Signature had previously said it would launch in the “first half” of this year – four years after Deaf teenager Daniel Jillings forced the UK Government to begin work on the qualification after threatening legal action.

It also comes as the UK’s third prime minister in two months, Rishi Sunak, appointed Nick Gibb MP as a minister at the Department for Education (DfE) as part of his first cabinet.

Mr Gibb was responsible for schools at the government department at the time of Daniel’s campaign, and in September 2020 he confirmed work on the GCSE had “resumed” following the outbreak of COVID-19.

While a DfE spokesperson told The Limping Chicken that ministerial roles would be made public “in due course”, it is understood Mr Gibb has returned to the role of schools minister, after tweeting he was “looking forward to helping deliver” on plans for “ever higher standards in schools”.

This website also understands that there are plans to first teach the BSL GCSE from September 2025.

In a statement to The Limping Chicken, Daniel said: “I am really frustrated by this, because I feel that the Department of Education sees the BSL GCSE as a low priority.

“They promised that the consultation would be in the early half of this year, but instead we get delay after delay, meaning the consultation will be a year later than promised.

”I am disappointed that after four years of campaigning, the GCSE still seems to be so far away and many Deaf children are missing out on the opportunity to achieve a GCSE in their own language, especially after the passing of the BSL Act.”

Earlier this month, Signature’s executive director Lindsay Foster said in an update: “Whilst we share the disappointment that everyone may be feeling, we also appreciate that it’s important to make sure that the scope of the qualification is the best it can be and the delay means the process won’t be rushed.

“We urge everyone to have the patience required to get the qualification right, the planned teaching hasn’t changed so the end goal is still the same, and that is ultimately what we are all working towards.”

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.