GIVE YOUR ENTRY STRUCTURE
A clear structure makes reading easier. Include headings, sub-headings, and bullet points. A brief summary at the beginning providing an overview of the main reasons for the entry is useful. Ensure your entry is written in clear, jargon-free English, and answers all the criteria clearly, identifying excellent practice. Describe the context to give our judges a feel for the nominee in their school context. You can include here what the most challenging aspect of their role is. Crucially, the entry should be written by someone who really knows the person, or the nominator has drawn on the knowledge of those who do.
Evidence is one of the most important aspects of your entry! Our judges like to see clear and succinct evidence of impact, with written details and examples. They want to read about what difference your nominee has made to students, colleagues, the school and wider community, be that regionally, nationally or internationally. If a Headteacher is felt to have turned the school around, they want to see how.
Written statements and quotes tell a much more interesting story than data – comments from parents or pupils who have been transformed or in other ways positively affected by the nominee. These are better when they reference something specific for example, ‘Ms X transformed things for me when she… the effect this had was that…’
Simply put, if your nominee isn’t shortlisted what would our judges be missing out on? Tell us the values and the truly unique examples in practice that make your nominee stand out from the norm – something related to their job, that has made a difference to children’s lives, but that has their personal stamp to it. They love to see an element of something unseen in the school before or unlikely to be apparent in other schools, especially when it’s through ingenuity, innovation, determination or sheer force of will, and not extensive working hours! What makes this teacher a National Award winner, and how could us showcasing their exemplary practice positively impact other educators across the UK?
Although we expect to see some pupil progress or attainment data, or recognition by external agencies such as OFSTED 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.
