*Brimsdown Primary School teacher Alysha Allen with her pupils*

A deaf primary school teacher has been commended for her “outstanding contribution to teaching”.

Alysha Allen impressed judges at the Teacher of the Year Awards with her confidence and ability to inspire children at Brimsdown Primary School. She teaches pupils using a combination of British Sign Language (BSL) and lip reading, with many becoming fluent in signing as a result.

Alysha was presented with the Special Contribution Award at the Teacher of the Year ceremony hosted by Maths Hub London North East, a programme involving around 600 schools which helps to lead improvement in mathematics.

Deputy headteacher Eleanor Painter, who nominated Alysha, said: “The children absolutely love learning sign language. Not only does this create a really inclusive environment at the school, research has shown it can help with language and speech development.”

Alysha said: “It’s an absolute honour and a privilege to have received this award.”

Did you enjoy reading this article? Enfield Dispatch is published by Social Spider, a not-for-profit company. Please consider supporting us either by making a donation or by signing up as a member.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.