Terms and conditions
Terms and conditions
Terms and Conditions for Unsung Hero Nominations
By submitting an Unsung Hero nomination for the Pearson National Teaching Awards, you agree to the following terms and conditions:
Eligibility
- The nominee must work in a physical early year setting, school, MAT, trust, partnership, or FE college in the United Kingdom.
- The Teaching Awards are open to establishments within England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales, whether state-maintained or independent. Online and virtual schools are not eligible, though this may change in future awards cycles.
- Nominees cannot enter themselves.
- A nominee who has retired, or will retire before the end of April 2026, cannot be entered. Posthumous entries and entries for retired practitioners will not be accepted.
- Previous Teaching Award Silver or Gold winners are not eligible for re-entry.
Nomination Process
- A nomination is defined as the completion and submission of a Thank you that you have opted to put forward as an Unsung Hero nomination as per the instructions provided on the Unsung Hero page . Nominations received by any other means will not be accepted.
- The nomination can be completed by any member of the public who wishes to nominate a staff member in an eligible setting, who they deem to be an Unsung Hero.
Award Scheme Administration
- All Unsung Hero nominations must be received by 5pm on Friday, 30th January 2026, for the 2026 awards year. Nominations submitted after this deadline, or incomplete entries at the time of the deadline, will not be accepted.
Should the nomination be shortlisted by the judges:
- The Teaching Awards Trust will inform headteachers/principals that the nomination has been successful and is deemed a Bronze Winner in The Pearson National Teaching Awards, pending their approval. NB If the headteacher is the nominee, the deputy head will be informed. If a nominator has not provided the headteacher’s/principal’s email, the main school email will be used (FAO SLT).
- The Headteacher will be given the option to add to the nomination and make it a full award entry against the Unsung Hero award criteria. progress. This gives them the opportunity to convert the nominee from a Bronze PNTA Unsung Hero to a Silver Winner or even Gold.
- The Teaching Awards Trust has the right to withdraw a nomination if it becomes clear that it lacks approval from the SLT or if any part of the nomination is found to be false, misleading, or self-written by the nominee.
- If the nomination is progressed into the Awards but cannot be judged on the agreed date, rescheduling will be attempted, but if impossible, the entry may be deferred to the following year.
Communications
- The nominator will receive an email confirmation of their Unsung Hero nomination.
- The nominee will receive a free thank you e-card with your thank you message. They will not know about your ‘secret’ Unsung Hero nomination.
- The Teaching Awards will not disclose the identity to anyone enquiring about the nomination without permission. Any enquiries of this nature will be directed to the nominator, who can choose whether to disclose the information.
Judging & Awards
- Should your Unsung Hero nomination be progressed by the school the full awards terms and conditions will apply.
- You nominating an Unsung Hero is deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions and agreement to abide by them.
Copyright and Media
- All material submitted as part of a nomination becomes the property of the Teaching Awards Trust and will not be returned.
- By submitting an Unsung Hero nomination, the nominator and nominee give permission for the Teaching Awards to produce publicity materials based on the nomination and agree to participate in interviews for media use without financial reward.
General Conditions
- A nominee who has retired or will retire before the end of April of the awards year (April 2026), cannot be entered for an award. Posthumous entries will not be accepted.
- All full-time and part-time employees in eligible settings are eligible for nomination, including those from both state-maintained and independent schools.
- The Teaching Awards reserves the right to exclude any nominee or entry at its discretion.
- By nominating, you agree to the Pearson National Teaching Awards’ and Thank a Tacher’s general website terms and conditions, in addition to those specific to the awards.
- There is no cost to nominate an individual.
- The nomination itself does not guarantee that the nominee will be shortlisted or win an award.
- Any form of misleading, fraudulent, or inappropriate nomination may result in disqualification.
