The Great British Bake Off has it's first deaf contestant!

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The Great British Bake Off kicked off season 14 last night with 12 new bakers and a brand new host joining Noel Fielding. This Morning's Alison Hammond.

As cake week started, Daryl, a BSL interpreter, was introduced. Audiences will see him interpreting what's happening in the tent for contestant Tasha throughout the competition. 

Whilst watching The Great British Bake Off, I followed along on Twitter. It was really lovely to see so many people happy to see themselves represented and others who were wondering, why didn't we learn this at school?

Well, Sophie Lavers was talking to ITV reporter Katharine Walker about that exact thing.

In the article published on 26th September, Sophie is backing calls for parents of deaf children to be given free access to British Sign Language (BSL) classes.

Sophie has had to raise more than £5,000 for lessons so she could communicate with Leighton, her 4-year-old son. Because Sophie is over 25, she isn't entitled to any help from her council. Having to rely on loans and turn to charities for funding. 

Telling ITV news;

"I started to learn to sign when Leighton was two months old. I’ve had to borrow from friends and take out loans to pay for classes. I think they see technology as a quicker alternative to make deaf people hear and live happily. I’m struggling to find help for Level 4 which starts in September. I've got to find nearly £2,000 before then, so it might mean I’ve got to get into more debt. It should have been readily available to me from when I found out he was first deaf.”

The National Deaf Children's Society has been concerned over the lack of support for families. Stating it will have a "catastrophic impact" on a deaf child's development. 

Luke Collins-Hayes, Deaf Empowerment Officer at the National Deaf Children’s Society spoke to ITV news about how communicating with your child should be a human right. 

"Imagine not being able to communicate with your child. Imagine if your child can’t tell you how they’re feeling, or what they need and want. Imagine not knowing how to tell your child 'I love you'."

So, what is British Sign Language (BSL)?

The British Deaf Association estimates that British Sign Language (BSL) is the preferred language of 87,000 deaf people in the UK.

BSL uses different grammar and word order compared to English. It doesn't have a written form and if you speak to people from the deaf community, they will tell you the importance of BSL to their identity. 

As of today, there are no plans confirmed by the government to have a universal free BSL course for parents of deaf children. 

A Department for Education spokesperson said: 

“Many local authorities will already fund sign language lessons for parents of deaf children, and we provide funding for a range of British Sign Language qualifications through our adult education budget and advanced learner loans. The Department for Education is currently working towards a new BSL GCSE qualification, which will be available in schools from September 2025.” 

Over to you:

• Do you think BSL courses should be free to parents of deaf children?
• Do you think BSL is something everyone should learn in school?
• Would you like to learn BSL?