Interview with Kath Sweeney, head of the Deaf Resource Base, Knotty Ash Primary School

In November 2024, Kath Sweeney from Knotty Ash Primary School was named Teacher of the Year at the Educate Awards. She was nominated by a parent and judges called the entry ‘very moving’, as it shared in detail the incredible work and support Kath provides to the children and families at the school.

Kath has spent much of her career dedicated to improving the lives of deaf children and advocating for positive deaf identity.

The prestigious accolade is a testament to her unwavering commitment and the exceptional team she leads within the Deaf Resource Base (DRB) at the school. In this issue of Educate Magazine, Kath reflects on her career and the challenges and rewards of her dedicated role.

Growing up with a brother who was profoundly deaf, Kath was very familiar with the challenges deaf individuals face, including the discrimination and isolation that can come with it. Her desire to make a positive impact led her to volunteer in the DRB, eventually working her way up to head of the department, where she’s been for nine years.

Kath values the close collaboration with the headteacher of Knotty Ash, Roanne Clements. She says: “It’s been a fantastic partnership with Roanne. She has always understood the importance of deaf education. When she first took on her role, she embarked on a master’s course at the University of Leeds to learn about deaf education.

“We’re on the same wavelength now. I don’t have to explain things to her because she has an incredibly deep understanding of deaf education. In order to do my job effectively, it requires Roanne to have an understanding of what goes on in the DRB.”

Kath adds: “The partnership makes the job doable. It’s challenging enough, but without that support, it would be practically impossible.”

The DRB at Knotty Ash is fully integrated into the broader school community and all the children – deaf and hearing – are taught British Sign Language (BSL).

Kath says: “The mainstream staff are deaf-aware, and the children are deaf-aware too. It works really well.”

Kath’s role involves more than just education. “We often find that the children who come to us don’t have a full language from an early age,” she reveals. “It’s rare that we’ll have a child who arrives with that foundation.

“Often, what happens is that a child will start in a mainstream school, not have a great experience there, and then come to us with a language delay.”

She adds: “Our role is to look at the child holistically – not just their education, but their family circumstances as well.”

Supporting families is crucial in Kath’s approach. She explains that deaf children born into deaf families have a different experience, but the majority of the children at Knotty Ash come from hearing families.

She adds: “Around 90-95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. For those families, it can be overwhelming to navigate all the resources and know where to turn for support. That’s where we come in and help them find their way and make the journey easier.”

Kath’s team is dedicated to meeting the unique needs of each child. She says: “Each child here has an education, health, and care plan, which is reviewed annually. We make sure that the plan is reflective of the child’s needs. The whole team knows the children so well, and that’s key to ensuring every need is met.”

The school’s inclusive environment is one of its key strengths and it is proud to have an IQM Inclusive School Award with Flagship status.

Kath comments: “For us, it’s about making sure that children are where they need to be to get the education they deserve. Everything we do here in the whole school, but especially in the DRB, is about teamwork.

“We’ve got qualified teachers of the deaf, and central to the work of the DRB is Ann McKenna, our deaf educational instructor. Ann has been deaf since she was a toddler and grew up in the deaf community – she is a native BSL user. Really, the only person who can teach a deaf child how to become a deaf adult is a deaf adult, so we absolutely value our deaf staff who work here.”

The incredible team of support staff in the DRB are brilliant too. They have a wealth of experience working with deaf children and they all have an exceptional skill set.

She adds: “The incredible team of support staff in the DRB are brilliant too. They have a wealth of experience working with deaf children and they all have an exceptional skill set. Their ‘can do’ approach, positivity and determination helps each child reach their full potential.”

Knotty Ash’s inclusive curriculum ensures children within the DRB learn alongside their peers in school. “We have an inclusive curriculum that the headteacher has developed,” Kath explains. “The teachers here get joint planning, preparation and assessment time, so the mainstream teachers and the teachers of the deaf meet together, and that is key really.”

Kath emphasises that it isn’t about placing a child in a lesson; it’s about meaningful inclusion.

She continues: “Our children will go into the mainstream classes pre-tutored, which means we can pre-tutor the language, the vocabulary and the concepts before they go in so that when they are there with somebody interpreting for them, they understand what’s going on. Otherwise, it wouldn’t work, it would just be ticking a box.”

Kath believes the key to success lies in communication. “We have so many staff who are ex-pupils and have come back to work here. That’s a testament to the school and the environment we’ve created,” she says. “Our children learn BSL, and this allows for meaningful friendships. Whether the children are BSL users or spoken English users, they can all communicate effectively.”

The incredible work of Kath and the team at Knotty Ash has not gone unnoticed, and naturally, the school has become a beacon in the northwest.

She says: “We have a lot of visitors who come in, in fact, we’ve just had a team come up from Stoke. Generally speaking, in other deaf resource bases throughout the country, what tends to happen is the children are in the mainstream and then they come out into the deaf resource space where ours is the opposite model – the children are in the deaf resource space, which is their sort of ‘home territory’, and that’s their position of strength. They can get what they need and then go out into the mainstream with confidence.

“It is great to share best practices and our message is loud and clear in that we value BSL and spoken English equally. Respect for BSL, respect for the deaf community and deaf culture is really central to the school.”

Kath’s advice to other schools or teachers is both practical and inspiring. She shares: “Having deaf adults involved in your school is vital because they can provide real role models and teach children to embrace their deaf identity positively.”

Reflecting on her win at the Educate Awards, Kath was deeply moved to be named Teacher of the Year.

She comments: “I absolutely couldn’t believe it. It is a testament to our entire team and I can’t stress enough that everything here is about the team. It’s a team effort, and our parents are such an integral part of that.

“It was just so lovely to think that the parents took the time and effort to recognise the role I’ve played within the team. That nomination, in essence, reflected the work of everyone here and it brought a tear to my eye. It was such a beautiful tribute and I was absolutely overwhelmed by it.”