Member Article

Local Freemasons fund development of GCSE in BSL

Signature, the leading body for qualifications in sign language and other deaf communications, has received £18,000 from The Freemasons’ Grand Charity. This grant will be used to fund the development of a GCSE in British Sign Language.

Speaking about the donation, Lindsay Foster, Chief Operating Officer of Signature said

“We are overwhelmed to have received such a generous grant from The Freemason’s Grand Charity, and feel that this financial backing acknowledges how important our aims are to develop a GCSE in British Sign Language.

We believe that the introduction of a British Sign Language GCSE into the national curriculum would be a significant step towards providing deaf children with more equal access to education and employment, and we thank the Durham Freemasons for their support.“

Signature is a national charity which promotes excellence in communication with deaf and deafblind people. Its vision is of a fully accessible society and it seeks to do this through campaigning and developing qualifications in British Sign Language and deaf communications. British Sign Language (BSL) was recognised as a language30 in its own right by the British Government back in 2003, and its introduction to the national curriculum would help to break down the barriers for deaf children in education, leading to increased employment opportunities.

A GCSE in British Sign Language will help promote social inclusion between deaf and hearing children, creating a more inclusive learning environment. It will also allow deaf children the same opportunity as other members of society, to gain a GCSE in their native language.

Speaking about the donation Norman Eric Heaviside, Provincial Grand Master for the Province of Durham said: “We are thrilled to be involved in this exciting development for British Sign Language. This qualification will go a long way in helping British Sign Language gain the status it deserves and will provide deaf children with greater opportunities both in learning and in life. Durham Freemasons are very happy to be supporting Signature in their work to create equality between deaf and hearing people.”

The Major Grants Scheme is just one of the initiatives driven by The Freemasons’ Grand Charity which donates over £2 million to national charities every year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Crulley .