Mrs Anne Gough
Teaching Awards 2008 Winner
The Award for Special Needs Teacher of the Year
Royal School for the Deaf and Communication Disorders, Cheadle
Anne Gough’s reputation as a brilliant teacher precedes her. Families have even relocated from other parts of the country after hearing of the excellent work she does with children who have communication problems.
Colleagues say Anne is inspiring to observe. She has dedicated the past 13 years of her working life to the Multi-Sensory Support Unit at the Royal School for the Deaf and Communication Disorders, where she manages a team of ten learning support assistants, with nine learners.
Anne has extremely high expectations and is passionate in her quest to provide the very best education at all times. She has planned and drawn up individual learning programmes for all pupils - from foundation stage to key stage 4 - which allow them to access information through all their available senses.
As PE co-ordinator she organises sporting activities, and closely monitors every child to make sure no one gets left behind, while courageously helping them to acquire valuable life skills so they may take their place in society.
Colleagues and parents describe her as “a truly amazing human-being” who has devoted her career and life to children with special needs. Within her department, she wears a multitude of hats including teacher, senior manager, departmental manager and mentor. Her tutor from university said Anne was one of the best teachers of the deaf she’d ever trained, in a 30-year career.
Parents value her approach and the way she has changed the lives of families. One described how the whole family had relocated from the south of England so their child could attend the school, and another said: “She is one of the amazing people I have ever met. She has the most amazing initiative and intuition; she just knows what to do.”
The headteacher, Hilary Ward, said: “In one’s lifetime, you may be very privileged to work with someone who is outstanding, and Anne is one of those people. I wish I could meet more Anne Goughs. I wish I had a school full of her!”
Judges were unanimous in giving her the national Award, and emphasised how “her strategies enable pupils to communicate and make some sense of a world that is incredibly difficult for them”.
