British Sign Language Update
Clear and confident communication is essential for learners to support their progression to further studies and employment.
Qualifications Wales recognises that studying British Sign Language (BSL) between the age of 14 and 16 will give learners a vital life skill, valued by both employers and members of the Deaf community.
From 2027 learners in Wales will have an opportunity to study BSL as part of the new National Qualifications offer. BSL units will be available in our new Skills for Life qualification. These will enable schools across the country to offer qualifications that include BSL with more learners able to develop practical skills for social interaction.
This exciting new offer will allow a greater number of learners to access this important inclusive life skill and increase their ability and confidence when communicating with those within the Deaf community.
The BSL units (from entry level to level 2) will offer an engaging way for learners to demonstrate their practical communication skills in BSL. The units will be manageable for schools and lend themselves to peripatetic teaching, making good use of the existing teacher workforce.
Earlier this year, Qualifications Wales announced that a new GCSE in British Sign Language (as part of the National Qualifications offer) would also be available from 2027. However, the development of this qualification still has many practical challenges for the education sector as a whole. Qualifications Wales has therefore, after careful consideration taken the difficult decision to suspend the development of a made-for-Wales GCSE in British Sign Language.
The GCSE in development was intended for 14 to 16 year-old learners studying BSL for the first time. We have previously acknowledged that this may not have been a suitable GCSE for fluent and confident users of BSL.
Depending on the successful delivery and take-up of the new BSL units in our Skills for Life qualification, Qualifications Wales will consider, over time, whether the National Qualifications offer should be further expanded to include a GCSE in British Sign Language specifically designed for Wales. In the meantime, awarding bodies developing the GCSE British Sign Language in England will be able to apply to have this qualification designated for use by learners in Wales.