Sue Brownson arrived at Layock Primary School from ‘leafy Hertfordshire’ in the 1980s

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A TEACHER who pioneered a deaf education programme at a primary school is saying goodbye after more than four decades in the job.

Sue Brownson arrived at Layock Primary School from “leafy Hertfordshire” in the 1980s, and has been the lead of its highly-celebrated deaf provision for 34 years.

Having decided to become a teacher of the deaf after finding a leaflet while tidying up the careers drawer in her sixth form, Ms Brownson has now taught hundreds of children.

She remembers the time when having a cochlear implant was “incredibly controversial”, and the debate over whether deaf children should be taught spoken English and have their own classes.

Ms Brownson’s goal has been, above all, to ensure that deaf children have access to every opportunity in life, and become confident and comfortable in themselves.

“It’s incredibly rewarding,” said Ms Brownson. “It’s rewarding, particularly working with parents of younger children, sometimes even people with babies come in who have just received a diagnosis.

“I remember a parent who walked in off the street, and she had a baby in her arms of six weeks and she was crying because he had been diagnosed as profoundly deaf. And eight months later, she came back to say that he had been diagnosed with Usher syndrome, so he would become blind as well. We ended up having three of her children, they’ve gone on to university.”

She added: “You go on the journey with parents and I’ve always viewed this as a family education because we can’t just work with the children during the school time, they need support throughout their entire lives.”

Lilian Prem, whose child Anaya attended the school for eight years, is just one of the parents helped and guided by Ms Brownson during her career.

“The hardest thing as a parent of a deaf child is not knowing what the future holds for them,” Ms Prem said. “But the first time I spoke to Sue, I made up my mind that my child would go to Laycock. Sue was always there along the way trying to help us, telling us that deafness was not there to restrict these children.”

Ms Prem added that Anaya now speaks “so clearly”, has the reading age of 14 despite being 11, plays two instruments, as well as deaf tennis, football and skateboarding.

She said: “You have to see a child with a cochlear implant doing all these things before you realise that you don’t need to give up. But you need a school like Laycock for that, and by Laycock, I mean Sue Brownson.”

Aaron Blythe, who worked alongside Ms Brownson at Laycock for 22 years, recalled how a child was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disorder and needed a kidney transplant. Ms Brownson got herself tested to see if she might be a match.

“That is just above and beyond,” Mr Blythe said. “She is just such a phenomenal, caring person. She has given her life to deaf educa­tion. She’s a really lovely, gentle soul who knows her job, knows what the kids need, and she’s passionate about it.”

Jenny Lewis, the executive headteacher at Laycock, said Sue will be missed, adding: “She’s selfless, she always puts herself last. She always works for the children. She’s very patient with the children, especially those children with complex needs that other schools would give up on. Sue is very patient and takes the time to work with them, and you just see that relationship around the school.”

As she departs, Ms Brownson said she owes a lot to the teams of teachers and language therapists she has worked alongside over the years. “I’ve just been the facilitator for some incredibly skilled teachers, and passionate people, who’ve taught me so much,” she said.