Blantyre’s Calderside Academy will pilot British Sign Language as a language option this August when the schools return after their summer break.
A move to roll out British Sign Language (BSL) as a language option in South Lanarkshire schools has been hailed a “significant milestone” by Scotland’s first deaf councillor.
The announcement comes after East Kilbride Councillor Grant Ferguson, the first ever deaf BSL user to be elected in Scotland, presented a motion ‘BSL in Education’ to South Lanarkshire’s Equal Opportunities Forum where chairman Councillor Mo Razzaq and members agreed to investigate this with education resources officers.
Councillor Ferguson added: “There are an estimated 6000 deaf BSL users in Scotland who depend on interpreting services and there are only 50-60 qualified BSL interpreters in Scotland. This equates to approximately one interpreter for every 109 deaf BSL users.”
“This has been a significant milestone for South Lanarkshire education to have BSL as part of the curriculum. I believe that through time, this will address the significant problems with interpreter shortage and improve the quality of life for deaf BSL users in Scotland.”
Commenting on the decision, Councillor Razzaq said: “This is what the Equalities Forum is all about. We need to be continuously reviewing and monitoring to ensure that South Lanarkshire is a progressive and inclusive council.”
