Skills for Life: British Sign Language
British Sign Language is a Skills for Life unit in which learners meet and greet deaf people, fingerspell names, use numbers, describe weather and transport, and give and follow directions in BSL. It is one 20 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma, and each level achieved counts. Literacy is the core: BSL is a visual language, so the Literacy speaking and listening statements cover producing and receiving signs, and fingerspelling moves between English spelling and BSL. Numeracy is light: signing numbers up to 60, with time, money and dates in the amplification.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Six learning outcomes (interacting with people, fingerspelling, numbers, weather, transport and directions), each with assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Six learning outcomes (meeting people, fingerspelling, numbers, weather, transport and directions), each with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours, and unlike other units each level achieved counts towards the qualification.
Skills that use Purpose
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Asking for clarification and sharing personal details
At Level 1 learners ask for clarification with simple signs such as again or what, and share basic personal information such as name, age and job. At Level 2 they request clarification with full questions and ask for and give a range of personal details to suit the context and relationship. Both are required by the assessment criteria.
Literacy: Questioning, Purpose, Listening as part of collaborative talk
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils learn the signs for again, what and slower, and use them when a partner signs a word they did not catch.
- Year 8
- Pupils interview a partner in BSL using set questions about name, age and favourite food, and record the answers in a table.
- Year 9
- Pupils hold an unscripted signed conversation about a hobby, asking a full clarification question such as can you repeat that whenever meaning is unclear.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 1, assessment criteria 1.2 and 1.3, page 8
“Demonstrate how to request clarification using full questions”
Progression step 3
I can respond to others’ points of view by seeking clarity, summarising and explaining what I have heard, read or seen.
I can ask and answer questions, building on and developing the ideas of others in group discussions.
Progression step 4
I can organise talk effectively to respond to how listeners are reacting by adapting what I say and how I say it.
I can listen to and respond to others with questions, comments and suggestions in order to develop collaborative talk and reach compromise/consensus.
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Describing weather, journeys and locations in connected signs
Learners give a description of the weather, describe a recent journey and the transport used, and give directions and the location of places using relative positions such as next to, behind and opposite. At Level 2 they link multiple signs into short sentences and show the severity of the weather with non manual features. These are required by the assessment criteria.
Literacy: Purpose, Clarity and vocabulary
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sign a one sentence weather report for today, such as today sunny, using a weather picture as a prompt.
- Year 8
- Pupils sign how they travel to school, naming two types of transport and putting them in order.
- Year 9
- Pupils sign a weekend weather forecast, using facial expression and movement to show the difference between light rain and a heavy storm.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcomes 4 to 6, assessment criteria 4.3, 5.3, 6.1 and 6.3, pages 6 and 7; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcomes 4 to 6, assessment criteria 4.2, 5.2, 6.1 and 6.3, pages 8 and 9
“Describe a recent journey using BSL, including the modes of transport you used.”
Progression step 3
I can organise talk so that different audiences in different contexts can follow what is being said, including using formal language.
I can make appropriate choices about vocabulary, idiomatic language and syntax in order to express myself with fluency and clarity.
Progression step 4
I can convey meaning convincingly in a range of contexts so that the audience is fully engaged.
I can make informed choices about vocabulary, idiomatic language and syntax in order to express myself with fluency, accuracy and clarity.
Good to know
- The unit codes are S603E1, S603E2, S603E3, S603L1 and S603L2, and the unit is 20 guided learning hours (Unit overview, page 3).
- Unlike every other unit, levels add up: "Learners can complete the British Sign Language unit at multiple levels, and each unit will count towards the GLH required for the qualification" (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 2.2, page 10).
- Staffing is a real requirement: "For Level 1 and 2, teachers must hold a nationally recognised qualification at or above the level they are delivering or be native users of BSL" (Resources required for delivery, page 15).
- BSL has no written form, as the overview notes: "BSL is not a written language" (Unit overview, page 3). Evidence such as "video recordings of learners signing conversations or presentations in BSL" (Sources of evidence, page 14) therefore carries most of the literacy work.
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory" and teachers may adapt them or write their own (specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- AI rules apply to the portfolio: misuse includes "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information" (specification, section 4.6, page 21).
- Appendix A maps the unit to Creativity and innovation and Personal effectiveness, not to Literacy or Numeracy, even though the learning outcomes are language and number work (specification, Appendix A, page 28).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names Looking after others, Teamwork, Understanding self and others, Values for life, Overcoming barriers, Community participation and Equality, diversity and inclusion as closely related Skills Suite units. The topics of greetings, personal details, numbers, time, weather, transport and directions are the same everyday topics taught in GCSE French, GCSE German, GCSE Spanish and GCSE Core Cymraeg, so learners can carry language learning strategies across. The focus on inclusive communication links with GCSE Health and Social Care and Childcare, and number work for time and money links with GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy.
Source: WJEC British Sign Language (BSL) unit delivery and assessment pack, read with the WJEC Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life and Skills for Work specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).