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Deaf pupil wins legal fight for BSL interpreter

  • Area of Work: Scottish Sensory Hub
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 13th April 2025

A deaf teenager has won a legal fight against Fife Council to have a British Sign Language interpreter in her class for school lessons

Niamdh Braid launched an action against her local authority last year after missing out on essential learning. She has been deaf since birth and wears hearing aids, but struggles to hear in noisy environments. Her preferred language is British Sign Language (BSL).

Niamdh and her parents had asked the school for a BSL interpreter but their request was turned down. A complaint to Fife Council was also rejected.

With support from the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), Niamdh raised her own legal action against the local authority. The tribunal ruled that Niamdh was being placed at a “substantial disadvantage” and was “at risk of feeling isolated, withdrawn, unsupported and not listened to” without advanced BSL interpretation.

Mark Ballard, head of policy for NDCS in Scotland told BBC Scotland News, “we hope that every local authority in Scotland will look at this and put in place the support that deaf children need, rather than those children and their parents having to go all the way to a tribunal to get what should be theirs as a right.”

Read the full story on the BBC News website.

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