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Lifetime Achievement
This is an award for an individual who has dedicated their life to the teaching profession and made a real difference throughout their career, inspiring and enriching education for others. It recognises a wide range of educators, who must hold QTS, including teachers, headteachers, principals and CEOs in schools, FE colleges and academy trusts. Your nominee will have had a significant and positive impact on the people they have worked with over the course of their career, from pupils and colleagues to educational stakeholders and within their local community, and not only in their current schools and beyond, but throughout their lifetime career in education. Their commitment to, and passion for, education should be exemplary to all.
Who can enter?
- Educators in state or independent schools or FE colleges who hold QTS.
- Nominees must be in the final 1-2 years of their career. They should still be working in April 2026 to allow judging to take place
Nominator guidance
Lifetime Achievement – Nominator Guidance.
What makes a good entry?
Thank you for taking the time to nominate your colleague for the Lifetime Achievement award. Your nomination plays an important role in showing judges the nominee’s impact.
Awards criteria
A well-structured entry is key. Start with a brief summary that highlights the main reasons for the nomination. Use clear, jargon-free language, and ensure each criterion is addressed thoroughly. Organise the content with headings and sub
headings.
Include details about how the nominee overcomes the most challenging aspects of their role. It’s important that the entry is written by someone who truly knows the nominee, or that the nominator has consulted with those who do.
Evidence and impact
Evidence of impact is the most important aspect of your entry. Our judges look for clear, concise examples that demonstrate the nominee’s impact on students, colleagues, and the broader education community—whether on a regional or national scale. If, for instance, a Headteacher is credited with turning a school around, it’s important to show exactly how this was achieved.
Impact on Learners: Provide specific examples of their direct influence on learners. Highlight practical evidence of high-quality, inspirational teaching that encourages a love of learning and demonstrates excellent classroom skills. For
teaching assistants and school leaders, include evidence of inspirational support, leadership, and creative approaches that engage and motivate both children and staff.
Impact on Colleagues: Describe how the nominee has positively influenced their colleagues. Have they supported others or helped them improve? Consider their role within the staff community beyond the classroom or staffroom. Have they boosted morale or consistently uplifted those around them in some way? Our judges love hearing about these contributions, no matter how big or small.
Impact on the Wider School Community: Highlight the nominee’s overall contribution to the life of the school and the community.
Wider Impact: Where a nominee has shown impact further afield, locally or nationally, please detail this and the impact of that work.
Personalised details are what make your nominee truly stand out.
Bring the entry to life
Written statements and quotes provide a much more compelling narrative than data – especially comments from parents or pupils whose lives have been positively impacted by the nominee. These are most effective when they reference something specific, for example, ‘Ms X made a huge difference to me when she… the effect this had was …’
Where relevant, you could include supportive quotes from a broad range of sources, such as senior leaders, businesses, health or social care agencies, and local community voices. These perspectives highlight the nominee’s impact beyond the classroom.
It’s essential that someone who knows the nominee well writes the entire entry, not just detailing what they do but also providing specific examples and the impact of their work. Personalisation is key.
That special something
Put simply, if your nominee isn’t shortlisted, what would our judges be missing out on? Share the values and truly unique examples of practice that set your nominee apart—something related to their role that has made a real difference to children’s lives. Our judges are particularly keen to see initiatives or approaches that are unprecedented in the school or unlikely to be found elsewhere, especially when they demonstrate innovation and determination, rather than just long
working hours. What makes this nominee a National Award winner, and how could showcasing their exceptional practice inspire and benefit other educators across the UK?
Wider contribution
Highlight how your colleague has made a significant contribution beyond their core responsibilities. Consider areas such as their involvement in extra-curricular activities, community engagement, or initiatives that enhance the wider school
environment.
You could examples such as:
- Leading or supporting clubs or events
- Organising or participating in fundraising activities or community outreach programmes or any achievements they have contributed to that reflect their broader impact within the educational community
- Championing eco-friendly initiatives, such as Eco-Schools or sustainability projects or contributing to the development of children through other enrichment activities
Provide clear examples to demonstrate how their efforts have gone above and beyond, enriching the school experience and making a positive impact.
Personal journey and inspiration
To help our judges understand the nominee as a whole, beyond their role, please share what has shaped their personal and professional journey. Were there key influences from their own education, a significant person, or a defining event in their life? What inspired them to pursue a career in education? Your insight into their motivations and background will help our judges appreciate the individuals behind the educators.
What to avoid when writing your entry?
Data
Unless the criteria specifically request this, although we expect to see some pupil progress or attainment data, or recognition by external agencies to show your nominee’s impact on pupils, our judges prefer this to be kept to a minimum. They carry out due diligence if your entry reaches shortlisting stage. At this point they can obtain data / Ofsted reports.
We want to emphasise the importance of submitting unique, personalised nominations that reflect the individual / team you’re celebrating.
Entries that are not unique
Recently, we’ve noticed that AI-generated or AI-assisted entries often contain repetitive or generic statements that simply echo the criteria without offering real insight. These entries lack the personal touch and specific details that make a
= nomination truly stand out. If you choose to use AI for support, please ensure your entry still reflects your own voice, includes specific examples, and offers personalised evidence or testimonials that highlight the nominee’s unique impact. Remember—it’s the details and authentic stories that truly bring your nominee to life!
Links
You can submit up to 3 additional evidence files along with your written entry. Hyperlinks to other documents, videos, social media etc should be classed as additional evidence and not part of the entry.
Specific guidance for this category
1 Inspiring Learners
Provide evidence of impact: Include specific examples that demonstrate clearly how the nominee has made a difference to students, colleagues, their educational setting and the wider community (local and/or regional and/or national). You could break this down into:
- Examples of how the nominee has improved educational standards/outcomes for students over time
- Evidence of how they have supported students to overcome challenges, build confidence and believe in their own potential
- Evidence of how students, parents, colleagues or external partners have recognised or commented on these outcomes
2 Lifelong learning and development
Use this section to show how your nominee has shown commitment to lifelong learning throughout their career. Share evidence that the nominee has continued to reflect, adapt and develop their practice over time. You may wish to include:
- Examples of how the nominee has engaged in professional development at different stages of their career, such as training, qualifications, research, or professional networks
- Whilst valuing and refining proven methods, how has your colleague stayed up to date with changes in education and adopted new approaches
3 Inspiring others
Think beyond the classroom: Highlight contributions such as mentoring, leadership, innovation, or influence beyond one setting over an extended period of time. Judges want to understand the ways in which the nominee’s experience and leadership have helped others to grow and succeed. Share:
- Examples of how the nominee has supported, mentored or developed colleagues and team members over time
- How they have shared expertise, encouraged reflective practice, ad helped build confidence and capability in others
- Any contributions to other schools, networks or the wider community, including collaboration and partnership work
4 Achievement and legacy
As this award is only for someone reaching the end of their educational career, highlight their legacy: Explain what they will be remembered for, and how their influence will continue after retirement. What is the lasting impact of their work? Judges are looking for a clear picture of the nominee’s most significant achievements, as well as evidence that their influence will continue beyond their time in post. Think about:
- How they have enriched the life of the school or setting, including culture, values, outcomes or opportunities for others
- What the nominee will be remembered for, and how their influence will continue through the culture they have created and the people they have inspired
General tip for a strong Lifetime Achievement entry
Write as someone who knows the nominee well. Judges want authentic stories and examples, not general statements.
Show their uniqueness. The entry should reflect the nominee’s own strengths, skills, and experiences. Avoid using a generic template with only small edits — judges want to see what sets this person apart.
Judges will ask themselves
- What sets this nominee apart from others? Where and how have they gone ‘over and above’ what is normally expected in their professional role?
- How have they made a lasting impact?
- What makes them stand out — their USP (Unique Selling Point)?
You can download this information here
Award Criteria
Please address each of these points in your entry, under the following headings.
Inspiring learners
Tell us about the ways in which your colleague has worked to help raise the educational standard achieved by the students in their care, and how others have viewed these outcomes. How have they encouraged students to aim high, achieve their goals, and take pride in their progress?
Life-long learning and development
How has your nominee maintained a commitment to their own professional development throughout their long career, ensuring they are always abreast of and use new, as well as tried and tested teaching methods to give their students the best education possible?
Inspiring others
Outline the ways in which your colleague is a source of inspiration to other team members. How have they helped develop the expertise of others, and used their experience to engage with parents, other schools and the local community?
Achievement and legacy
What do you consider to be the major achievements of your nominee throughout their career with both peers and students? How have they enriched the lives of those in the school community? Importantly, what do you consider to be their lasting positive legacy?
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