Signing the way to a future GCSE in BSL

The status and profile of British Sign Language (BSL) is growing across Wales, both as a means of communication and as a way of supporting connections between Deaf and hearing communities. This is exemplified by the BSL (Wales) Act progressing through the Senedd.

Over the past year, we’ve spent a lot of time listening, learning, and building a clearer picture of what BSL delivery currently looks like in Welsh schools - what the challenges are and how they can be mitigated. 

To do this, we’ve spoken with a number of key organisations, kept in regular contact with Ofqual about the development of GCSE BSL in England, and reached out to centres in Wales already delivering BSL or who have delivered it in the past. Additionally, we ran a survey in 2025 to understand schools’ existing and future plans around BSL; the challenges they face in teaching and offering qualifications in it and what support would make the biggest difference.

Below we set out some of the main areas of work we will be focusing on over the next few years as we consider the potential for the introduction of a made-for-Wales GCSE in BSL in the longer term. As the qualifications regulator, we are directly responsible for some aspects of this work, while in many other instances our role will be supporting other organisations as they lead on areas they have direct responsibility for.

Deepening our understanding of how BSL is being taught within Curriculum for Wales

As schools continue to develop their Curriculum for Wales provision, we will actively engage with Welsh Government and Estyn to understand on a practical level how BSL is being delivered in schools and how practice is evolving over time, for example in terms of incorporating British Sign Language within the Languages, Literacy and Communication Area of Learning of the curriculum.  Building on from our recent BSL school survey, we will conduct a follow‑up survey in 2027, enabling us to assess how schools’ attitudes, approaches, and plans are changing.

Strengthening BSL resources for schools

Our survey identified the importance of schools having access to high-quality bilingual BSL learning materials. We are working closely with Adnodd to help identify opportunities to increase the number of BSL resources available to schools. Alongside Adnodd we are working with other relevant organisations such as Signature (a specialist BSL awarding body) to facilitate the dissemination of their BSL resources in Wales. 

Understanding the early impact of the Skills for Life units

In September 2027, new qualifications in Skills for Life and Work will be available to centres in Wales. BSL features within the Skills for Life units and we will be closely monitoring the BSL units to understand how they’re working in practice. These units offer structured opportunities for learners to develop practical everyday BSL communication skills, from Entry Level to Level 2, and are available as bitesized units of either 10 or 20 guided learning hours. 

We will collect data on the number of BSL units awarded and the levels at which these units are awarded. 

Alongside certification data we will also visit centres to gather richer insights - speaking to teachers about their experience of delivering these units and how they are timetabled, in addition to hearing from learners about what drew them to BSL and whether they want to take it further.

Supporting the BSL teaching workforce

We know that quality teaching plays a key role in the success of any subject and that this has a direct impact on the viability of any future made-for-Wales GCSE in BSL. That’s why we’ll continue working with Welsh Government to understand their future plans to further develop and strengthen the BSL teaching workforce.

Staying informed about BSL changes across the UK

To make sure we’re learning from others, we’ll continue to keep in touch with Ofqual, CCEA and Qualifications Scotland. This helps us stay aware of any new BSL qualification developments in other parts of the UK and identify any good practice that could benefit learners in Wales.

Future considerations for a BSL qualification

We know there is a strong desire among some stakeholders to have a made-for-Wales BSL GCSE. We are also aware of the practical challenges currently preventing this; most significantly the lack of teachers who have both BSL expertise and qualified teacher status. We are dependent on other organisations such as Welsh Government to provide the relevant inputs to address this particular challenge.  

Through these activities, we will build a comprehensive picture of the evolving role of BSL within schools. This will place us in a strong position to make an evidence-informed decision about when the conditions are right to develop a viable, sustainable made-for-Wales GCSE.

Planned BSL activities