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<p>I held a meeting on 12 March with interested MPs and representatives from a leading
charity within the field, and have scheduled another meeting with that charity and
further interested MPs on 20 March. During frequent visits to schools I engage with
teachers and students and discuss a range of topics including sign language.</p><p>
</p><p>The Government has introduced a number of recent changes to GCSEs, AS and A
levels in England that will affect schools in the coming years. We know that extensive
changes need time to settle in, and that school leaders will want stability to bring
in the new qualifications. There are no plans to introduce new GCSEs, AS or A levels
in this Parliament.</p><p> </p><p>Schools are free to teach British Sign Language
and there are existing qualifications available which schools can enter pupils into
at any point of their school career. These include a Level 1 award, Level 2, 3 and
4 certificates and a Level 6 NVQ certificate. British Sign Language is also now an
alternative to a Level 1 and Level 2 qualification in English when studying an apprenticeship,
where British Sign Language is the apprentice’s primary language. This enables those
who use British Sign Language to complete their apprenticeship without having to achieve
another English qualification, such as GCSE or Functional Skills.</p>
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