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Transforming the life chances of local children.
This award celebrates a secondary school that has transformed the life chances of its students while enriching its local community. These schools often face challenges, yet tackle them with creativity, care, and determination. They’re seen as a model of good secondary practice professionally with an established record of strong academic outcomes. They are places where students feel valued, staff are proud to work, and parents and the wider community see the school as a real asset.
Who can enter?
Open to state or independent secondary schools or middle schools teaching children aged 11-18 across the UK.
Nominator Guidance
Making a Difference – Secondary School of the Year – Nominator Guidance.
What makes a good entry?
Thank you for taking the time to nominate your wholes school team in the Making a Difference – Secondary School of the Year award. Your nomination plays an important role in showing judges the team’s impact. NB the term nominee throughout this document refers to the whole team.
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 well, 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 team 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 A school for all
Under this criterion, we would love to see evidence of how the whole-school team has created an inclusive environment particularly those who are vulnerable or disadvantaged. Share evidence of how ambition is encouraged and how students are supported to become active, responsible members of their school and wider community. Judges are looking for examples of inclusive practice that are embedded and sustained, and that have led to improved experiences and outcomes for students from different starting points.
2 Brighter futures
Demonstrate how the school has responded to local or contextual challenges and the impact this has had over time. Explain what challenges the school has faced, how they’ve have been addressed, and what has changed as a result.
Include evidence of how the school has improved life chances and sustained progress and achievement. Feel free to share improvements in outcomes, engagement, attendance, behaviour, wellbeing and/or aspirations, alongside examples of innovation that have helped maintain momentum. Judges will be looking for evidence that the school inspires pride, belonging and a genuine desire in students to keep improving. That you’re making a difference.
3 Beyond the classroom
In this section, tell us how the school works with local stakeholders to contribute positively to wider community life. As well as describing activities or initiatives, explain why these collaborations were developed and what they aimed to achieve. Provide evidence of how working with community partners has a positive impact on student success, student wellbeing or their engagement in life beyond the classroom. Tell us how this has improved experiences for students and families – and how is this different from the beginning of your journey?
4 Inspiring and engaging others
Demonstrate how the school makes a difference beyond its own walls. Focus on the impact of partnerships and collaboration, rather than simply describing who the school works with. Show how the school leads the way through strong relationships with parents, other schools and key stakeholders, locally and/or nationally, for sustained impact and improvement. What is the difference this makes to young learners?
General tips for a strong Making a Difference – Secondary School of the Year entry
- Write as someone who knows the school well and understands its journey over time.
- Focus on the team, not individuals. While individual contributions may be referenced, judges are looking for evidence of collective leadership, shared purpose and whole-school impact.
- Be specific and evidence-based. Use clear examples, short case studies or trends over time to show how the school has made a difference. Avoid broad claims without explanation.
- Show impact over time. Explain how the school’s work has led to sustained improvements in students’ learning, development, wellbeing and future readiness, particularly for those facing barriers
Judges will ask themselves
- What makes this secondary school stand out in its context
- How has the school gone above and beyond to support children and families and improve their life chances?
- What evidence shows that its impact is meaningful, sustained and shared across the community?
- What is ththis school’s unique selling point?
You can download this information here
Award Criteria
Please address each of these points in your entry, under the following headings.
A school for all
How does the whole school team create an inclusive environment where every student, particularly the most vulnerable or disadvantaged, can flourish? Describe how the school supports all learners to achieve well, grow in confidence, and develop a positive outlook for the future. How does the team encourage ambition and help students become active, responsible members of their community?
Brighter futures
How has the school overcome local challenges to build a genuine feeling of pride, belonging, and shared purpose among pupils, staff, and families? Share evidence and examples of how the school has created meaningful change, improved life chances, and embraced innovation to sustain progress and achievement. How do they inspire a genuine desire in their students to keep improving?
Beyond the classroom
How does the school work with its local community to strengthen opportunities for young people and contribute to wider community life? Illustrations of how collaboration positively impacts student success, wellbeing, and engagement beyond the classroom is key in this section.
Inspiring and engaging others
How does the school make a difference beyond its own walls? Tell us how it leads the way through strong partnerships with parents, other schools, and key stakeholders locally or nationally to ensure sustained impact and improvement across the school and wider community. Describe how its outward-looking, innovative approach broadens opportunities and builds lasting confidence in learning, employment, and life.
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