DEBATES on the Education (Scotland) Bill, currently making its way through the Scottish Parliament have focused on the impact of the creation of two new education bodies: Qualifications Scotland and the new Education Inspectorate.
However, the wording of the bill has caused major concern for those who use British Sign Language (BSL) in Scotland.
I am Deaf and a BSL user, which means I have experienced the isolation first hand of not being able to communicate in my chosen language, especially in school.
When I was growing up this had a massive impact on my education and mental wellbeing.
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I remember what it was like in my classroom when I was I unable to keep up with discussions in spoken English. I dreaded being asked a question while still trying to piece together through lip-reading what had been said.
I also remember the massive improvement in my learning abilities that came once I could use BSL to communicate during higher education, both in college and at university.
Being able to communicate in our natural language is a fundamental human right and this applies to BSL for many Deaf children and adults including myself.
This right to our language and our culture is now enshrined in law in Scotland, since it became the first nation of the UK to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into law. Article 30 of the UNCRC states that minority groups have a right to use their language, which for many Deaf people is BSL.
Therefore, the failure to recognise the needs of users and learners of BSL in the first draft of the Education Bill was extremely disappointing.
Currently, the new bill says the new education bodies, including a new exam board for Scotland, being created by the bill, must consider the needs of pupils who learn and use Gaelic.
This is quite right – just like BSL, the Gaelic language is a door into culture and community with deep roots in Scotland.
But it is quite wrong that BSL was not recognised in a similar way. This omission could have an impact on the many Deaf children and young people who use BSL as their first language, or who wish to learn BSL. This would affect their education in terms of learning and being included in their school environment too. Because of this, I am proud to be part of a campaign to change the bill and give BSL the recognition it deserves.
The National Deaf Children’s Society, the charity I work for, has joined up with other organisations including RNID, Deaf Action, Deafblind Scotland and local groups such as Lothian Children Deaf Club, to work together to change the bill.
Being part of this campaign is so important – it’s vital to ensure future generations of Deaf children and young people in Scotland have full access to exams via BSL, and that school inspections ask questions about BSL access.
The first step was that the charities worked together on joint evidence to the Scottish Parliament committee discussing the bill.
All the organisations then asked their members and supporters to write to the committee in support of our joint evidence. Nearly 400 people joined in this first phase of our campaign.
We also wrote to members of the committee and requested that they asked questions about BSL during its discussions on the bill.
We were delighted when, during the committee’s final evidence session on the bill in October, George Adam MSP asked the minister in charge of the bill, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, about BSL being overlooked.
She said she recognised the importance of BSL and would get back to the committee with a suggested way forward. The convenor of the committee then highlighted how many members of the public had been in contact with their concerns.
However, this is just the beginning. Soon the whole Parliament will get to debate the bill. We will make every member of the Scottish Parliament knows that BSL must not be forgotten.
We hope the minister comes back with a good proposal – but we will not stop campaigning until the bill has been changed.
Hopefully all this campaign activity will lead to the bill being amended and BSL users and learners in Scotland getting the recognition they need. No more Deaf children should experience what I went though in school.
Hannah Butcher is a member of the National Deaf Children’s Society’s policy and campaigns team
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