The ICA Teacher Awards shine a spotlight on exceptional teachers at your school. Whether you’re a student with a brilliant teacher, a teacher with an incredible colleague or a member of a school with a truly transformational leader, an ICA Teacher Awards nomination can offer some much-deserved recognition. But how can you put an application together? We’ve broken down our top six tips to demystify the ICA Teacher Awards.
Choose your category carefully
There are eight categories in this year’s ICA Teacher Awards, so make sure to choose the right one for the best chance of success. Is your nominee an exceptional early years teacher, a charismatic community builder or a terrific team making a big difference for your school? Don’t forget that you can nominate yourself for the People’s Choice: Most Inspiring Teacher award. You can only make one nomination per award category, so make sure you think carefully about your choice.
Read the judging criteria
Entries are evaluated based on criteria such as impact on learners and alignment with ICA values, so read these over and think about how they apply to your nominee. Which elements of their work best showcase these criteria, and what evidence can you use to support this? Most importantly, how can you weave this all together into a convincing picture of their career?
Put together a cohesive narrative
Once you’ve decided how to pitch your nominee, it’s time to create a narrative for the judges. Applications must include a written submission of up to 750 words, which should be structured according to the following prompts:
Their impact on learners
Their innovation in practice
Their alignment with ICA values
Their professional growth
Their commitment to student voice and agency
Make sure you tell a cohesive story – the clearer the picture you paint, the better your nominee’s chance of success!
Pay attention to your uploads
To support your narrative, you’ll need to upload supporting documents to showcase your nominee’s work. You can include everything from lesson plans to student testimonials, so get creative and be comprehensive! Make sure that all your evidence is relevant to your narrative, and that you upload all documents in the right size and format.
Ace your video introduction
If your nominee is selected for the second round, they will be asked to provide a one-minute video introduction answering the question ‘What does it mean to be an ICA educator?’. It’s best to prepare the video in advance, since nominees will only have two weeks to submit it. Videos will be scored on relevance to the question, clarity and cohesion of the message, and impact and inspiration.
Entries for the People’s Choice category will also need to submit a one-minute video on the theme of ‘inspirational impact and relatability’, to be published Awards platform. These will be used by the public in the voting process, so make sure to communicate your passion for education in an engaging and inspiring way.
Keep your eyes on the prize
Nominating someone for an ICA Award isn’t just a great way to recognise hard work and encourage inspirational teaching in your school – it also puts them in line for some fantastic rewards! Winners and finalists receive a certificate and trophy along with significant international recognition, raising their professional profile and the profile of your school. Some teachers have even received visits from Prime Ministers or invitations to embassies after winning, so it really is all to play for!
