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Frank Barnes FAQ


What’s so special about Frank Barnes School?

Frank Barnes School for Deaf children is the only primary school in London that teaches the curriculum directly through British Sign Language (BSL).  Over half the school staff is deaf and all staff have a high level of fluency in BSL.  Deaf children at Frank Barnes are fully included in every aspect of the school and have the chance to develop relationships with all staff and all children.


What’s BSL?

BSL is the preferred language of the Deaf community.  It is a visual and spatial language with its own grammar and syntax.  It was officially recognised as a British minority language by the government in March 2003.  At Frank Barnes, BSL is celebrated as the first language of the school community.


Why do Deaf children need BSL?

Oral/aural English is a huge struggle for deaf children.  Even with digital hearing aids and cochlear implants many deaf children don’t have access to spoken language and as a result develop language much later than their hearing peers.  Introducing deaf children to BSL early on gives them the chance to develop age appropriately. 

Research in Scandinavia and the US has shown that early exposure to signing develops higher reading skills among deaf children than those without the chance to access it.


What are Camden’s plans for Frank Barnes School?

Camden Council want to build a City Academy on the land that Frank Barnes is on.  Government stipulates that if a local authority plan to change local SEN provision they must demonstrate that plans to replace it must improve on what is currently in place.  We are asking them to honour that obligation.


What have Camden proposed for our children?

Camden want to ‘transfer’ our children to Blanche Nevile in Haringey.  Blanche Nevile has different teaching methods to Frank Barnes and addresses different needs so it is not a suitable school for our children.


What do parents and school governors want?

We want Camden to guarantee that they can provide the same high quality service to deaf children as Frank Barnes provides at present. We need Frank Barnes to be rebuilt as a co-location with an existing Camden Primary school.


Who will pay for the new school to be built?

Frank Barnes School serves children from 16 London Boroughs.  Camden therefore need financial support from the government and/or other local authorities to rebuild the school.