Our priorities

Our Manifesto

Our priorities for ensuring Deaf people, Deaf children and their families have full access to British Sign Language.

We want the next Government to transform the way British Sign Language is accessed in the UK by deaf children, their families and deaf adults.

Deaf children in the United Kingdom have a human right to linguistic and cultural enrichment through the acquisition of British Sign Language (BSL), and Irish Sign Language in Northern Ireland. BSL is a rich and dynamic language that is an integral part of our cultural identity.

Sign languages are full languages with their own communities, histories and cultures. The World Federation of the Deaf, with a membership of 136 national Deaf associations, emphasises the importance of fostering a positive linguistic and cultural environment so deaf children can grow up with a profound sense of identity and pride in their Deaf heritages.

Language acquisition in the first years of life is essential. The evidence shows that children with inadequate access to any form of language experience language deprivation. This has serious life-long consequences for deaf children’s language, emotional and cognitive development and their wellbeing.

Currently, there is no national programme of early years BSL provision for deaf children in the UK. Experts agree the way forward is clear.

Priority 01

Nothing about us without us

Talk to the UK’s only national representative association of BSL and the Deaf community.

With the support of all political parties, the British Sign Language Act passed into law in 2022. Deaf people are not meaningfully consulted or involved in the implementation of the Act. From audiology to health, from education to local authorities, services for Deaf BSL signers are often designed and delivered by non-signing hearing people, resulting in provision that does not match our needs.

Deaf people are the experts and must lead on all BSL matters. We should lead the design, development, delivery and evaluation of services. However, few get the opportunity to develop the skills that would enable us to take on such roles.

Priority 02

Free and immediate BSL support for deaf babies and their families

Even when deaf babies are equal, healthy and whole, they are treated as broken, defective and in need of repair. Our parents are being unnecessarily traumatised by this experience, with life-long consequences for us, our relationships with parents, our families and our communities.

Parents are told to ‘choose’ between speech and signing, a binary choice that removes richness, inclusivity and diversity from our lives. Immediate support with learning BSL is a proven clear marker of later success in life academically, personally and socially, and supports improved mental health and reduces the risk of self-harm. Yet our families have to pay to learn their child’s natural language, our natural language.

What government must do

Reframe the diagnosis pathway to meet current NHS standards of inclusivity and non-discrimination, including working with Deaf professionals to provide appropriate, non-traumatising day-of-diagnosis support.
Provide Deaf Language Specialists to ensure deaf babies have a strong platform for spoken and signed language acquisition.
Ensure free BSL classes are available to family members of all deaf children; parents are mentored by Deaf professionals to ease the path into community life; and national funding is provided so that all families automatically receive the same support.
Assess and remove barriers that prevent Deaf people from entering the Early Years workforce and contributing their time and skills to raising the next generation.
Recognise that families would have to pay £4,962,000 a year to receive this support when it should be free.

Priority 03

Full access to bilingual education in both fluent English and fluent BSL

All deaf children should develop their full potential in all language modalities. This includes signing, speaking, reading and writing. However, this is not happening.

To progress well at school, all deaf children should have access to bilingual and bimodal education, appropriately delivered in fluent BSL and fluent English. For many, this will be the first time in their lives that they fully understand their teacher and the classroom dialogue.

Most Teachers of the Deaf cannot sign fluently. We do not understand our teachers. Deaf children should be allowed to learn directly from their teachers, not through a less-qualified support worker.

Priority 04

BSL GCSE to be taught by Deaf BSL signers

Government is investing in a BSL GCSE for all children, both deaf and hearing. That is good news. It is a dynamic indigenous language that is a core part of Deaf people’s cultural identities and enriches the UK’s linguistic heritage. But who will teach it? Deaf people face systemic barriers to becoming schoolteachers. Very few hearing schoolteachers are fluent in BSL, and none of them has lived a Deaf life.

This should be a golden opportunity for Deaf people to enter the workforce and to have our language skills appreciated and valued. It is time to put the principles behind the BSL Act 2022 into practice and promote BSL.

Help us make these priorities impossible to ignore.

Together, we can build a fairer future where BSL is valued, respected and accessible for all.

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