Nursery World - Family approach to signing praised

The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) is lobbying the Department for Education and Skills for help in developing a national curriculum for families learning sign language following a successful five-month pilot scheme. The charity secured the support of Margaret Hodge MP, minister for lifelong learning and higher education, for the pilot scheme in ten different parts of the UK and is now approaching her for further backing. The initial programme consisted of a 15-week course that taught sign language to parents, deaf children and their brothers and sisters together. The course concentrated on language relevant to family life, covering subjects such as toys, pets and food and drink.

The charity secured the support of Margaret Hodge MP, minister for lifelong learning and higher education, for the pilot scheme in ten different parts of the UK and is now approaching her for further backing. The initial programme consisted of a 15-week course that taught sign language to parents, deaf children and their brothers and sisters together. The course concentrated on language relevant to family life, covering subjects such as toys, pets and food and drink.

The NDCS hopes to roll out the programme to 50 more sites in the next year.

Rosie Lloyd, NDCS director of projects and development, said, 'We were so impressed with the positive response from parents to this course that we have committed ourselves to gaining funding for a national curriculum for family sign language.

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