St Cyres Hearing Base 2018-19
RQ: How can we improve access to British Sign Language?
Methods: Online surveys for young people, parents and professionals
Findings:
- 99% agree BSL teaching should be free for everyone
- 73% of respondents would like to learn BSL
- 48% stated learning of BSL should be form birth, 23% between the ages of 6-11, 18% between 2-5 years, 13% 12-18 years, 7% 15-18 years and 6% from 10 years+
- The most effective methods to teach BSL are by a basic subject in primary school, specialist teachers and via community group learning.
- Top 3 benefits from learning BSL include help to communicate with family and friends, more inclusive communities and additional qualification
- 89% feel it’s unfair that you have to pay to get a qualification in BSL that enable humans to communicate
Outcomes/Impact:
The Children’s Commissioner for Wales sought the pupils’ help to create a ‘Top Tips’ resource in BSL with advice on introducing rights in school. Available on their website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdxH6V0mb_8
A selection of the pupils were filmed by the Future Generations Commissioner’s Team, ‘Our Future Wales’, the launch of a national conversation, a platform for the people to have their say and share their stories https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND4ZPtOSIsI .
One of the ‘strands’ of the Act involves communication access so the pupils planned how they can use this as a way of negotiating for change with their Town Council.
Pupils attended a Petitions Committee session at the Senedd focused on the petition campaign led by ‘Deffo’. See the Committee’s recommendations to Welsh Government on promotion of BSL here: https://senedd.wales/laid%20documents/cr-ld11766/cr-ld11766-e.pdf
Pupils planned a community campaign for local transport, shops and restaurants to have pens and notepads at their pay stations.