British Sign Language (Hansard, 25 July 2000)

§ Mr. Sheerman
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many employees in his Department are able to communicate in British Sign Language. [132103]

§ Mr. Wills
At the current time, the Department does not keep centralised records of those employees that are able to communicate in British Sign Language.

§ Mr. Trickett
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidelines are provided to educational institutions by his Department in relation to British Sign Language; and if he will make a statement. [132438]

§ Jacqui Smith
It is for Local Education Authorities and schools to determine how to provide best for deaf children in the light of local circumstances. The Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs includes guidance on the steps to be taken to identify and meet the needs of children with sensory impairments, including hearing difficulties.
The Department does not provide guidelines specifically on the use of British Sign Language. The Teacher Training Agency has set standards towards which teachers involved in the teaching of deaf children are encouraged to aim. These include standards on the use of British Sign Language as a means of teaching deaf children. In addition, teachers of whole classes of deaf children are required to gain a mandatory qualification, approved by the Secretary of State. Providers of courses leading to such a mandatory qualification are now required to bid against a national specification in order to run courses beginning in September 2001. The national specification requires that all participants completing the mandatory qualification for teaching deaf children should have a minimum competence in signing, equivalent to the Stage 1 qualification from the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People.
We have also supported the National Deaf Children's Society's quality standards in the education of deaf children, which do not favour any single approach to deaf education, but which do provide practical guidance to LEAs and schools on ways of educating deaf children, including the use of British Sign Language.