Petition · past parliament
Make British Sign Language part of the curriculum from primary school onwards
Closed
6,334 signatures
What the petition asks
There are currently 11 million people (or 1/6 of us) in the UK with some form of hearing loss. At least 50,000 people in the UK use BSL as their main language. BSL is a necessary form of communication for many people, and there should be a requirement for all to learn BSL from a young age.
BSL is important, as even the best lip readers catch less than half the words said to them. Moreover, the lack of BSL among the hearing population directly affects the opportunities available to anyone who is deaf. More worryingly, many children born deaf will struggle to communicate properly with parents, with only 1 in 10 hearing parents of deaf children learning sign language. If we made BSL common knowledge, even at a basic level, it would dramatically improve the life of many deaf people.
Timeline
| 22 Nov 2015 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 22 May 2016 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
6,334
Status
Closed
Opened
22 Nov 2015
Closed
22 May 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.