Petition · past parliament · Department for Education
Make British Sign Language a compulsory subject in the national curriculum
Closed
494 signatures
What the petition asks
The Government should include BSL in our curriculum for two years, as courses take a year and a half of average. There should be specialist teachers similar to other language classes that give students their best chance.
As of 2017, 11 million people in the UK are deaf or hard of hearing. However, only 151,000 people in the UK can fluently use BSL; not enough to effectively communicate with the deaf people of our country. Medical studies found that deaf people suffer from mental health issues at about twice the rate of the general population. Making a countrywide effort to improve communications should not only decrease this statistic but make everyday tasks easier for deaf people, overall making life better.
Timeline
| 5 Aug 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 5 Feb 2021 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
494
Status
Closed
Department
Department for Education
Opened
5 Aug 2020
Closed
5 Feb 2021
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.