Feras Al-Moubayed: Why BSL should be taught in UK schools (BSL)

My name is Feras, and I am a passionate British Sign Language (BSL) teacher. I was born in Kuwait and diagnosed as Deaf at the age of 2. Moving to the UK at 9 (without any communication abilities), I attended a Deaf school which changed my life.

It led me to become the first Deaf person to earn a degree at Liverpool John Moores University in 1993. I had to do all of that with interpreters and notetakers paid for out of my father’s pocket – at that time there was no DSA or ATW.

I subsequently worked as a fashion designer for prominent fashion houses such as Saville Row, Jaeger, Giorgio Armani, DKNY, and Harrods. I chose this line of work because it meant working with my hands and in a visual medium, something that comes more naturally to Deaf people, I think. I loved my work and was very successful.

In 2008, I decided to move back to Syria to set up my own business and give back to the Deaf community there by setting up the first Deaf school; rock star Bryan Adams was on board and we nearly managed it. Unfortunately, the war in Syria prevented the plans from becoming a reality, and in 2015, I returned to the UK.

Being back in the UK was a shock. I set myself up as a freelance fashion consultant and started delivering Deaf Awareness training to the contacts I had from my earlier years working in the UK. However, I struggled on a daily basis to access basic information, witnessed friends being disregarded and discriminated against every day, and saw first-hand the devastating effects this had on my friends’ mental wellbeing. No one I turned to was able to help, so in 2018, I decided to set up my own company to take the message of Deaf Awareness and BSL to the community. I founded Deaf Accessibility to change the lived experience of my Deaf friends and community.

Every day, I witness and experience first-hand the barriers that Deaf people face. This happens daily at GP surgeries, hospitals, and DWP offices, to name just a few. Deaf people are denied information in every sphere of public life – we all experienced this during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

My mission is to find ways of educating the hearing public and the people who make policy and decisions that affect our lives on what Deaf people need. I believe it is an ongoing mission that starts with education. In my opinion, the key is to start children as young as pre-school and get BSL into as many schools as possible. These children are our doctors, shop workers, and civil servants of the future.

I remember teaching my nieces simple sign language when they were just 6 months old. The benefits were not only that they grew up knowing a second language, but they also felt no embarrassment or awkwardness around my Deaf friends. Hearing children learn English and how to read using phonics. Deaf children acquire language and learn how to read by being exposed to British Sign Language from an early age.

It would be ideal if hearing children were exposed to BSL within their phonics learning. By using phonics-style teachings and merging it with BSL, for example, using the signs for the letters of the alphabet along with BSL signs for objects beginning with that letter (e.g., ‘A’ ‘Apple’). This means hearing children will learn from an early age and be equipped with some BSL when they start at primary school. This would ultimately reduce barriers in the future and prepare the children for GCSE BSL.

My efforts when contacting state schools have often resulted in rejections because “we don’t have the budget.” I realized that I needed to forge a different pathway. In 2019, I decided to contact private schools. I contacted 200 private schools and received a response from only one, which was Falcons. Three other private schools then agreed to join once they had seen the positive response from the students and parents.

So far, I have had the pleasure of teaching at several schools, including Knightsbridge, Sutton, and Hilden Grange, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from students and educators alike. Every time, the teachers and parents are astounded by how fast their children have learned. Rather than teaching children alone, we need to involve their families too.

At the end of each term, I encourage the schools to invite parents so they can witness and better understand the use of BSL and how it breaks down barriers. It is important to do this because those parents have a voice and can spread the message with us. Standing shoulder to shoulder with our hearing allies, we can build a bridge to make a better tomorrow for the Deaf community.

Sutton High School is among the first schools in the country to incorporate BSL into its curriculum. You can read more about Sutton High School’s initiative here. Head Beth Dawson remarked, “Equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the heart of our school culture, and we continuously seek innovative ways to empower our girls to become fiercely independent. The enthusiasm for BSL among our girls has been exceptional, making its integration into our timetable a natural progression.” I am proud to announce that all the pupils recently passed their Signature BSL Level 101 with flying colours and will start BSL Level 1 Unit 102 in September with the aim to complete their full BSL Level 1 award after that.

As you know, BSL is set to become a GCSE subject in 2025, following a recent government announcement and a consultation process on the proposed content. My concern is that unless the Deaf community works together, there will not be enough teachers (whose first language is BSL) to deliver the curriculum. Statistics show there are approximately 25,000 government schools in the UK and 2,600 private schools.

We need to contact our local MPs and ask them to invest in teacher training, enabling Deaf people to be the ones who deliver the lessons. At the moment, a lot of money is wasted from missed GP appointments (due to no interpreters being booked), and mental health issues are almost double in Deaf people compared to hearing. In addition, training more Deaf people to become teachers will positively impact reducing our unemployment figures.

Maybe this is important for everyone to understand:

• 1880 The Milan Conference: An international meeting was held to discuss the use of Sign Language in schools. With only 2 Deaf people present out of 164, Sign Language was banned and only oralism was to be used to deliver education.
• 1978 The Warnock Report: Mary Warnock published a report to address the educational needs of disabled children after it was shown that Deaf 16-year-olds left school with reading levels of 10-year-olds.
• 1993 Access to Work: A government-funded scheme to support disabled people’s employment. For the Deaf community, this is through equipment and aid in the workplace, such as interpreters, Communication Support Workers, etc.
• 2015 BSL (Scotland) Act: The Scottish Government passes the BSL Act to promote BSL and raise awareness.
• 2022 BSL Act: The UK Government officially passes BSL as a protected language with a framework to improve access to healthcare and other public services.
• 2025 BSL GCSE: Starting in September 2025, students will be taught at least 750 signs and how to use them to communicate effectively with other signers for use in work, social, and academic settings.

The Government needs to realize that British Sign Language is not a new language. The first use of BSL was in 1576 at a wedding ceremony at St. Martin’s Church in Leicester. Deaf people are still to this day suffering due to lack of awareness and lack of support to allow Deaf people to be treated as equals.

Early exposure and acquisition of BSL for the children of our future will allow for more equality and less suffering, and the Government should act proactively in supporting this within the education system. For the next generations, it will result in equal access within society; Deaf and hearing people communicating effectively and understanding each other, BSL being present in shops, churches, schools, etc. A fully accessible equal society—action needs to be taken now.