Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the end of the academic year 2021 – 22.

It has been the first full year since the start of Lockdowns and so much has happened in a year.

We have had an end to mask wearing, more variety on the lunchtime menu, a new Headteacher, new behaviour rules and expectations and a fully staffed DSB with two teachers of the deaf, two specialist Learning Support Assistants and 3 Intervenors.

There is one more big change which is that I am leaving the Petchey Academy and handing on the DSB, Teacher in Charge baton to Salma Adam. Ms Adam has been a great asset since she joined us and completed the team in May 2021. She has a wealth of knowledge and expertise and is very very organised!

The Petchey Deaf Support Base has been my baby since I came to Petchey in September 2016 to prepare the school for receiving deaf students as previously there was no resource provision for deaf students in Hackney and children had to take a long journey to out of borough provisions.

We started with only one student in 2017 and year by year we have increased to twelve deaf students in the Deaf Support Base. The students have benefited from the expert support from trained teachers of the deaf and the ongoing regular training for mainstream teachers and it has been a pleasure to see how consistently students are working towards their target.

Over the years we have also run parent workshops, fun activities for primary aged deaf children, BSL clubs for deaf and hearing children, NDCS trips, opportunities for students to meet deaf adults and explore the world of work, coffee mornings and much more.

It will be exciting to see how the DSB develops under the leadership of Ms Adam, and I look forward to hearing all the news.

Thank you for all your support over the years.

Wishing you a warm and pleasant summer break

All the best

Jeanette Alexis

Deaf Support Base