My daughter has just turned 9 and she is all ready learning basic French and German, which excites me hugely. This mean when she meets children from these nationalities, she can introduce herself and find out their name and age.....basic start to any friendship. Thankfully she is a very confident and chatty little girl who will happily talk to anyone of any race or colour.... so I was filled with sadness when I realised there are so many children who speak her own language that she can't communicate with! You know that feeling when you are abroad, in a country where the language is near on impossible to pick up, and you really need something, but are unable to communicate it. The level of frustration that builds because what you need to ask is so simple, but the language barrier makes it ridiculously hard....? Imagine how that would feel if you were in your own Country, and even the simplest of tasks meant finding an interpreter! In the UK there are between 23,000 - 25,000 deaf or hard of hearing children, who struggle in main stream schools to even bond with their peers, and this is something that no child should have to experience. When children from other nationalities come into British Schools they are catered for and encouraged to learn English so that they can form friendships, learn easier and have a great school experience. Deaf children can not be taught to hear, and will never be able to communicate freely with hearing children no matter how hard they try, but most hearing children will have the ability to learn BSL. Deafness is not a disability that affects a persons ability to learn or work, and if BSL was taught in the same way we teach the spoken and written English language, deaf children would not have to 'learn to cope' with feeling ostracised and would grow up in a world where any job would be achievable, as most people would have a good understanding of BSL. I beg you to consider putting British Sign Language into the curriculum for main stream schools, both Primary and Secondary, as this can only enhance our children's education and bring our society closer together. I love language and think it's great our children are given the opportunity to learn French, German & Spanish, but BSL would allow hearing people to be able to communicate with a whole side of society they are unnecessary out of touch with. Deaf people read the same words, both spoken and written, as hearing people do, so it seems insane that there is a barrier between deaf and hearing, of the same spoken language, purely down to lack of education! One language, currently divided, for no reason! This has to be changed!