The 23rd of September marks International Sign Language Day, an annual day of recognition to support and protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of all deaf people and other sign language users.

There are 11 million people in the UK who are deaf or hard of hearing and this shouldn’t be an impediment to communication. Ahead of this week, I was proud to table an EDM calling for the Government to commit to teaching British Sign Language in schools from Key Stage one through to Key Stage three. We should also look to introduce a GCSE in the subject.

The Government must also commit to providing sign language interpretation for its daily COVID-19 briefings to ensure those with hearing difficulties aren’t left out of the loop on the latest information.

Read the full text of my EDM over on the Parliamentary website: https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/57448/teaching-of-british-sign-language-in-schools