Carlton Keighley’s Esta Bernardini, the winner of the Teaching Assistant of the Year at the 2022 Pearson National Teaching Awards, has been asked to join the judging panel for this year’s prestigious awards, commonly referred to as ‘The Oscars of Teaching’.
Esta, who has been a member of the SEND department at Carlton Keighley Academy, a member of the Carlton Academy Trust, for almost 10 years, was awarded the 2022 gold award in recognition of her work to help visually impaired students access mainstream education and be an integral part of the school community.
Specialising in support for Visually Impaired pupils, Esta’s day involves providing Braille and Modified Large Print for pupils across the Academy and preparing tactile learners for their GCSE exams. In addition to her main role Esta runs an RHS endorsed Gardening Intervention for Mental Health and British Sign Language lessons.
Understandably, Esta is thrilled at the prospect of being a judge at this year’s Awards, commenting; “I’m thoroughly honoured to have been given this opportunity and invited to judge at this year’s Pearson National Teaching Awards; it’s a fantastic event, celebrating the impact of educators across the UK.”
Head of School, Mark Turvey, acknowledged her sterling work over many years “This is a well deserved accolade for Esta. Throughout her time as a Teaching Assistant at Carlton Keighley, Esta has made an incredible contribution to school life, working tirelessly with students to achieve excellence for all. I am incredibly proud of her’.