Alysha Allen almost didn’t make it through her teacher training. The 33-year-old, who was diagnosed as profoundly deaf when she was two, was daunted by the prospect of having to spend six weeks in a mainstream primary school. “I thought it wasn’t going
to work,” she says. “I almost gave up on the whole teaching thing at that point.”
Fortunately, her tutor helped her organise a placement at Brimsdown primary in Enfield, north London, a mainstream school with a hearing impaired resource base (known as the HIRBiE team). All of the children at the school are taught British Sign Language (BSL), and signing workshops are run for staff and family members. The school also has a team of communication support workers to help deaf children communicate with hearing staff and children.
For Allen, the school’s inclusive ethos was just what she needed to thrive. She has now been there for three years, and was recently named New Teacher of the Year at the TES School Awards 2020, as well as picking up a special contribution award from the Maths Hub, a national programme that aims to spread excellent practice in teaching the subject. “It’s a bit surreal,” she says of the recognition.
As a child, Allen initially attended a mainstream primary school, before transferring to a boarding school for deaf children when she was nine. “The classes were smaller, and we all sat in a horseshoe so you could see everyone,” she says. “I loved it.” She later passed her 11-plus and went on to another specialist residential school – the Mary Hare school in Newbury, Berkshire.
Allen teaches at Brimsdown primary, where all of the children are taught British Sign Language
“Everything is down to my mum really,” Allen says. “She made sure that I had speech and language therapy, found the right schools for me, pushed me to sign and learned to sign herself too. She brought me up to work twice as hard and that’s just something I’ve accepted. I get really embarrassed when I’m told I’m an inspiration.”
Allen hadn’t considered teaching as a career until she started volunteering one day a week at a special educational needs school. One afternoon, she was asked to cover for a teacher who was poorly. “My deputy head at the time said I was a natural and that I should think about becoming a teacher. But it was right at the time my friend and I wanted to go travelling.” Those words of encouragement stayed with her though, and when she returned from her backpacking adventure, Allen signed up to do her degree and teacher training at Middlesex University.
Allen had expected to return to a special educational needs school once she qualified – until she found Brimsdown. “With special needs education there’s a lot of repetition, but in a mainstream school everything moves much more quickly. I really enjoy the pace of things and the fact that every day is different,” she says.
“At the beginning I was panicking because there were so many pupils, and I was worried I’d never learn all their names – let alone be able to read their lips. I had moments where I thought I couldn’t do it, but as I’ve gotten to know them and they’ve gotten to know me, there’s been a transformation.”
Her connection with her pupils has helped during the pandemic. “Teaching in lockdown has been challenging for me but I am proud of my class, who are trying their best. I belong in the classroom and cannot wait for things to get back to normal.”
Sign language and practical tasks help Allen get her message across at Brimsdown primary
Working in a school that values diversity has allowed Allen, who teaches year 3, to be creative with her methods and bring some “deaf culture” into the classroom. “We all have sign names – a visual representation of your name,” she says, miming putting on lipstick, which stands for “Miss Allen”. “I explained to my class that it’s normally something about your appearance, something you like doing or something else about you. It’s really helped the three deaf girls in the class. I’m so proud I’ve been able to do that.”
Visualisations and practical tasks – such as creating “human sentences” to learn about word order – are other ways in which Allen brings a bit of herself to class. In human sentences, a group of children are each given a word to hold and have to arrange themselves in the right order. “I learn through visual memories, and I think we need to do that little bit extra to help children remember,” she says.
The school has found that BSL can act as an inclusive communication tool, particularly for children who have additional needs such as autism, or those who don’t speak English as a first language – something that’s relevant in Allen’s school, where 44 languages are spoken.
Looking ahead, Allen would like to see mainstream teachers spend time in a special educational needs school during training. “There are many more children coming to school with extra needs,” she says. “And my experience of special educational needs is half the reason I teach a little bit differently.”
Above all, Allen likes to think she plays a role in teaching her pupils how to show empathy and develop a sense of community. “I want them to understand that being different is not a bad thing. I want them to grow up and leave school being good citizens with good moral compasses.”
To others considering a career in teaching, she is resolute: “Go for it. Whether it’s primary, secondary, mainstream or special needs, be passionate and put your best into it. All children need a role model, and whatever background you come from, even if you think you haven’t got anything to offer, you do.”
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