Author: Karen Faulds, SCILT
BSL is a language in its own right, with its own grammar, syntax and vocabulary. It has its own dialects and rich variation. Most importantly, it is a language which enables many of our D/deaf and Deafblind citizens to learn, work, parent, be creative, live life to the full, and to make their contribution to our communities, our culture and our economy. (Scottish Government, 2017)
The engagement of parents in their children’s learning can have a significant impact on behaviour, attitude and attainment. It increases pupil motivation, confidence and self-esteem and impacts positively on social skills development. This relates to all children and it is important to ensure that every child has an equal chance of success. In addition, parental engagement is a crucial component in ensuring that children with additional support needs have the same opportunity to be successful.
October saw the publication of a new case study on the SCILT website that features parental engagement and British Sign Language. This was a joint study in partnership with Education Scotland that looked at an Inverclyde school’s effective engagement strategy in supporting both hearing and non-hearing parents of deaf and hearing-impaired children within the school community.
Moorfoot Primary School and Garvel Deaf Centre in Gourock provide the focal point of this case study which highlights how BSL is woven throughout the ethos of the whole and wider school community. All children, hearing and non-hearing, learn BSL from nursery onwards. Children in the mainstream school have the opportunity to gain an SQA qualification in BSL when they reach the upper primary stages. Many parents with deaf children in attendance at Garvel Deaf Centre have little or no knowledge of BSL and this can impact greatly on families. Much has been done across the school to provide additional support for parents and families. The provision of weekly BSL classes, run by the school’s tutor for the deaf, has been a huge success and has had such a positive impact on families in general. The classes, together with an online learning blog, have been valuable in helping parents support their children with their learning. Please visit the SCILT website to access the case study and hear what the pupils, parents and staff have to say.
If you are interested in sharing your local authority’s approach to parental engagement and family learning, or would like to find out how SCILT can help you develop opportunities in this area, please get in touch with Karen Faulds.