Enhancing Early Learning with signing
Curriculum Links: Sign Language in the EYFS and KS1
The Case for Sign Language in Every Classroom
8 in 10 children will experience glue ear before age 10
1 in 5 children has SEND needs - and this is increasing year on year
2 million children cannot access the curriculum due to language barriers
1 in 5 school aged children have a probable mental health disorder
Simple Communication, Language and Literacy Interventions for Early Years
Sign Language and the EYFS
Inclusive Early Communication
Enhanced Holistic Learning
Behaviour Management
Cognitive Development
Emotional Literacy
PRIME AREA: Communication & Language
What you might be seeing:
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Children with speech delays, Glue Ear, or unclear speech
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EAL learners not accessing full group learning
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Frustration or behaviour linked to not being understood
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Reluctance to join in circle time or storytelling
How signing helps:
Sign language gives visual support to spoken words, helping children to process and remember new vocabulary. It builds confidence, aids understanding, and supports early sentence structure, especially for non-verbal or EAL children.
PRIME AREA: Personal, Social & Emotional Development (PSED)
What you might be seeing:
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Emotional outbursts, especially during transitions
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Children feeling isolated due to speech or SEND needs
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Difficulty in understanding or expressing emotions
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Limited social interaction or turn-taking
How signing helps:
Signs give children a reliable, consistent, accessible way to communicate emotions and needs. They support empathy, reduce frustration, and build inclusive peer interactions – especially for children who feel ‘left out’ of spoken-only exchanges.
PRIME AREA: Physical Development
What you might be seeing:
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Struggles with pencil grip or fine motor control
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Difficulty dressing, managing cutlery, or using tools
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Lack of physical engagement in seated activities
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Over-reliance on passive screen time
How signing helps:
Signing strengthens the muscles in little hands – the same fine motor skills needed for writing and self-care. It encourages purposeful movement, bilateral coordination and spatial awareness, through meaningful, repeated actions children enjoy.
SPECIFIC AREA: Literacy
Laying the groundwork for reading, writing and storytelling
What you might be seeing:
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Vocabulary gaps (especially post-pandemic)
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Low engagement with books or storytime
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Struggles with phonics or word recall
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Limited comprehension in children with SEND or EAL
How signing helps:
Signs make key story words visual and memorable, increasing vocabulary retention and narrative structure understanding. BSL-integrated books make reading multi-sensory, so every child can access and enjoy stories.
SPECIFIC AREA: Mathematics
Helping children build early number sense and reasoning
What you might be seeing:
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Difficulty with early concepts like “more”, “less”, “big”, “small”
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Children not retaining number sequences
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EAL and SEND children struggling with abstract vocabulary
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Poor motor coordination impacting mark-making
How signing helps:
BSL supports maths through visual signs for quantity, size, and sequence. It makes abstract ideas concrete and memorable. Signing also supports rhythm and research shows that counting on fingers, at any age, supports number learning.
SPECIFIC AREA: Understanding the World
Exploring people, communities, cultures and the environment
What you might be seeing:
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Limited awareness of different ways people communicate
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Children unsure how to engage with peers who are different
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Curriculum lacking accessible inclusion tools
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Need for richer cultural and diverse representation
How signing helps:
Introducing BSL promotes inclusion, deaf awareness and respect for difference. Sign-supported stories highlight diverse abilities and help children understand that everyone communicates in their own way.
SPECIFIC AREA: Expressive Arts and Design
Encouraging creativity, expression and imagination
What you might be seeing:
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Children reluctant to join in with songs, rhymes, or movement games
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Difficulty remembering or sequencing action rhymes
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Limited expressive language during creative play
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Children watching but not participating in activities
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Frustration during creative tasks due to communication barriers or fine motor challenges
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How signing helps:
Signs make songs and creative play more inclusive and accessible, helping every child join in. The physical movements boost memory, confidence and develop motor skills. Children who sign during artistic activities can express themselves clearly, reducing frustration and building stronger connections with peers and staff.
Sign Language and the EYFS
The November 2024 EYFS update now treats British Sign Language as equal to speaking across all learning goals. Children who use BSL can show they’re meeting expected levels in Communication, Language, and Literacy through signing instead of talking. This important change means teachers should look at signing skills in the same way they look at speaking skills, making sure all children have a fair chance to show what they know, understand and can do.
Signing and Holistic Learning
BSL and Pupil Premium
Whole class learning and inclusion | Sign Language in KS1
Why Sign Language Matters in KS1
Speech + Language Delay
EAL + Visual Learners
SEND + Alternative Learning
Early Literacy + Language
Emotional IQ + Behaviour
English (Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing)
Challenges:
- Children struggle to structure thoughts or respond in full sentences
- Weak vocabulary, especially among EAL or post-pandemic learners
- Reluctance to read aloud or join group reading
BSL Support:
- Signs support sentence-building, sequencing, and recall
- Boosts vocabulary retention and expression
- Engages reluctant readers with movement and meaning
Action Step:
Use sign language for high-frequency or key words and storytelling
Maths (Number, Measure, Shape, and Space)
Challenges:
- Children don’t understand or remember maths vocabulary
- Abstract terms like “less than”, “half”, or “difference” cause confusion
- Children with attention needs lose focus when faced with abstract tasks
BSL Support:
- Sign language makes maths language visual and concrete
- Physical repetition helps embed counting and sequences
- Embodied learning helps kinaesthetic and visual learners
Action Step:
Sign number sequences, maths operations and positional language
Science and Foundation Subjects
Challenges:
- Key concepts lost on children with low language confidence
- Difficulty following instructions or engaging in group work
- Limited understanding of topic-specific vocabulary (plants, materials, etc.)
BSL Support:
- Signs give clarity to instructions and key vocabulary
- Helps link spoken and written new vocabulary words
- Enhances inclusive participation in experiments and discussion
Action Step:
Create visual word banks using key signs for each topic
PSHE / Citizenship
Challenges:
- Children struggle to name or manage emotions
- Peer conflict or misunderstandings due to poor communication and / or frustration
- Low confidence in assemblies or social spaces, lack of belonging
BSL Support:
- Signs for emotions, needs, and positive interactions reduce behvaiour outbursts and conflict
- Supports respectful communication and turn-taking
- Reinforces inclusion and empathy
Action Step:
Use ‘feelings’ and ‘needs’ signs daily to check in
Creative Curriculum (Music, Drama, Art, PE)
Challenges:
- Some children are hesitant or refuse to take part
- Children forget actions, lyrics or what comes next
- Creativity stifled by limited verbal expressions or being unable to contribute confidently to group work
BSL Support:
- Signing songs builds memory, rhythm and confidence
- Signing while dancing/acting engages all learners
- Allows non-verbal children to participate fully and share their creative thoughts
Action Step:
Add sign-supported songs, now and next routines and creative curriculum keywords to lessons
Key Benefits for KS1 Teachers
- Supports differentiation without separating children
- Inclusive pedagogy for diverse classrooms
- Reinforces spelling, phonics and comprehension
- Increases accessibility to topic-specific concepts and vocabulary
- Builds confidence in expression and collaboration
- Supports and builds communication, language and literacy skills so that children can access the curriculum
Recent research, presented by the Ladder Lab in March 2025, evidenced that:
- BSL skills have a direct impact on English skills
- Children with hearing needs (glue ear, deafness, APD, injury, infection) require accessible language input (signing) from Day One; children can make progress with language and literacy, afterwards, but they will not catch up
- Children who have higher BSL comprehension skills have better literacy skills
Speech and Language Support | Mixed ability classes | Behaviour | Neurodivergence
Sign Language Support for Teaching Challenges
| Challenge | How Rhyme & Sign Books Help | EYFS Area | Primary Curriculum Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glue Ear & Temporary Hearing Loss (8 in 10 under 10) | Visual and kinaesthetic cues support communication when hearing is impaired | Communication & Language, PSED | English (speaking/listening), PSHE |
| Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing | BSL supports accessible communication, inclusion, and early understanding of language | Communication & Language, PSED, Understanding the World | English, PSHE, Citizenship |
| Children with SEND / Speech Delay (1 in 5) | Reinforces vocabulary, meaning, and emotional expression through signs | Communication & Language, PSED, Literacy | English, SEN Support, PSHE |
| EAL / Multilingual Learners | Sign acts as a language bridge — reinforcing spoken language through visuals & actions | Communication & Language, Understanding the World | English, Modern Languages |
| Inclusion & Belonging | Signing helps create accessible, emotionally safe spaces where every child can take part | PSED, Understanding the World | PSHE, Citizenship |
| Differences & Diversity (Neurodiversity, Physical Differences) | Helps children understand and communicate about difference in positive, empowering ways | PSED, Understanding the World | PSHE, Citizenship |
| Low Vocabulary & Language Gaps (esp. post-pandemic) | Repetition, rhyme, signs and stories boost vocabulary retention and usage | Communication & Language, Literacy | English |
| Behaviour linked to communication difficulties | Signing reduces frustration, supports expression and emotional regulation | PSED, Communication & Language | PSHE, Behaviour Management |
| Lack of confidence with early literacy | Signing builds fine motor skills, memory, narrative structure and enjoyment of books | Literacy, Physical Development | English, Handwriting, Reading |
| Pressure to show measurable progress | Supports multiple ELGs including Language, Literacy, and PSED | All Prime Areas | English, PSHE, SEN documentation |
If you’re working with children who struggle with speech and language, EAL, low confidence, or SEND – all while trying to keep your lessons engaging, inclusive, and on track – you’re not alone.
The pressure to meet every need in one classroom is real, and it’s exhausting.
That’s why we’ve created a free overview to show how using simple British Sign Language strategies can support you.
Signing helps children follow instructions, boosts their vocabulary, and enables them to join in more confidently, all without adding to your workload.
Use signing for whole-class learning, small groups, for early interventions or reducing the attainment gap. Signing is a truly flexible, inclusive approach – and proven to work.
Download the overview and see how sign language can bring calm, clarity and connection to your classroom – one small change at a time.
