PRESS RELEASE
A new classroom initiative is bringing British Sign Language (BSL) to thousands of primary school children across the UK. The School of Signs is a free programme of study for primary schools, created by Signature, the UK’s leading awarding body for deaf communication and language qualifications.
The School of Signs represents an important step in bridging the gap in communication between deaf and hearing communities. It not only promotes Deaf awareness and British Sign Language, but also equips children with valuable, lifelong communication skills. With over 54,000 deaf children in the UK, the School of Signs creates a great opportunity to make a generational change, that makes us a more inclusive society.
The programme of study features:
- 20 FREE online lessons delivered by Deaf BSL.
- A blended learning model, combining classroom BSL lessons with an interactive series called Codebreakers.
- Comprehensive learning resources, including lesson plans, printouts, homework, and a dictionary of signs.
- Teacher support in the form of CPD.
- An online platform that allows schools to track progress and set homework.
Research by Haptonstall-Nykaza and Schick highlights a strong link between fingerspelling, reading and vocabulary development, showing that visual language skills can significantly boost literacy and comprehension from an early age.
For the first time, schools anywhere in the UK can access a complete programme of BSL study at no cost, designed by experts, taught by Deaf teachers, and supported by leading organisations in Deaf education and media.
With over 43 years of experience, Signature has long advocated for greater access to BSL in schools. In 2024, 364,000 primary school children took part in the UK’s largest-ever online British Sign Language lesson as part of Sign Language Week. Following the official recognition of BSL as a language in 2022 and the upcoming GCSE, the project lays the foundations for a future generation of confident, inclusive communicators.
The School of Signs programme is delivered entirely online and has been designed to be engaging for students and flexible for teachers.
So far, over 300 schools have signed up ahead of the launch, contributing to our goal of reaching more than 1,000 schools by the end of the academic year.
In partnership with ITV Signpost, Signature has created Codebreakers — a series of short fictional films designed to bring BSL learning to life. The series follows two spies, Max and Evie, who go undercover in a school to solve mysteries, with BSL seamlessly woven into each storyline. Each episode links directly to topics in the School of Signs study programme, giving pupils a fun and engaging way to practise their skills.
Collaboration with key organisations made the project possible.
The Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD) contributed its expertise in teaching BSL to children and supported the design of the lessons to ensure accuracy and inclusivity. ITV Signpost produced the Codebreakers series, bringing high-quality production and creative storytelling to the project. Finally, our partnership with 2Simple simplifies access for schools and parents, embedding all resources seamlessly within Purple Mash.
Lindsay Foster, Executive Director at Signature, said:
“We want to make it not just possible, but easy and fun for primary school children to learn British Sign Language. By weaving sign language into lessons through
practical activities, Codebreakers, and classroom discussion, we are able to help children build communication skills and cultural understanding in a natural way. School of Signs is about building an inclusive society, from the ground up, starting in our classrooms.”
John Walker, Chair of Signature commented:
“The School of Signs project is about getting British Sign Language into as many primary schools as possible…in 5, 10 years, we want every child that leaves primary schools to have some deaf awareness and to be able to sign. The School of Signs project aligns perfectly with our mission of creating a more inclusive society and helps us to engage the next generation of BSL learners.”
The School of Signs launches Monday 13th October 2025.