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The Public Education Awards are open to all employees and consist of 11 categories. These categories reflect the priorities in our strategy for public education, highlighting the development of learner agency, equity, inclusion, reconciliation and wellbeing.
You can nominate a team, colleague, or yourself. If you’re entering on behalf of someone, make sure you seek approval from them before submitting a nomination.
The 2024 Public Education Awards Categories are:
Excellence and Equity in Education
This award recognises people who create inclusive and collaborative experiences and learning opportunities.
Learners are empowered in a culture of high expectations as they develop the knowledge, skills and capabilities they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world. It celebrates those who support our learners to reach their potential to become fulfilled individuals, active, compassionate citizens and lifelong learners, by recognising and building on the unique strengths each child or young person brings no matter what their background or needs may be.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of how you’ve created opportunities for our children and young people to become effective learners who know their strengths and areas of development, and who can make considered decisions about their own learning so they can thrive, no matter their background. 2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites, or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
Innovation in Teaching and Learning
This award recognises innovative teaching practices which may include the use of technology, that stimulates co-creation, collaboration and collective working in response to feedback from learners.
It recognises the significant encouragement and learning support that our people provide to instil a culture of high expectations, that stimulates a love of learning and enables our children and young people to think creatively, and to act for and with others.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of how you are exploring innovative practices to enhance learning experiences for children and young people.
2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites, or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
Excellence in Learner Agency
This award recognises people who empower our learners to develop a sense of identity and responsibility by embedding structures and processes to involve them in actively co-creating learning and by enabling them to exercise their agency in their site and broader community.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of how you have empowered learners to activate their agency to shape their learning experiences.
2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites, or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
Excellence in Collaborative Partnerships
This award recognises those that build impactful and authentic partnerships to enhance learning and pathways through the provision of collaborative and innovative opportunities that explore new ways to support our children and young people to thrive.
It acknowledges those that recognise the importance of strengthening collaboration to enhance outcomes that are underpinned by clear moral purpose, and a commitment to improvement of self and others.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of how you have built impactful and authentic collaborative partnerships to enhance learning and pathways.
2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites, or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
Inclusive Practices in Education
This award recognises those who exemplify inclusive education and demonstrate outstanding practice to improve outcomes for learners with disability.
They personalise learning, value individual strengths, and build strong relationships with learners, families, and colleagues. They are inspiring role models within and beyond their sites, who also work collaboratively with their colleagues. They encourage a sense of belonging with our children and young people by partnering with families and communities to increase safety and build wellbeing.
They work to make sure the Disability Standards of Education are enacted to the highest level and demonstrate their dedication to achieving success for every learner.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of how your practices exemplify inclusive education and reflect excellence and equity for learners with disability.
2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites, or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
Outstanding Safety Initiatives
This award recognises exceptional initiatives in promoting and maintaining healthy, safe and productive work and learning environments for employees, children and young people.
It celebrates sites or individuals that have demonstrated outstanding commitment and innovation in the field of health and safety. It acknowledges those who are making the biggest difference by recognising initiatives that create and support safe work and learning environments.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of how you have intentionally integrated safety solutions and/or experiences to create safe and productive work and learning environments.
2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
Excellence in the Support of Early Career Teachers
This award recognises the systems and people that support our beginning teachers to thrive.
They embed a strong culture of collaboration, wellbeing and professional growth and provide practice focused mentoring opportunities for early career teachers to observe, connect with colleagues, analyse, and evaluate teaching practice. As a result, early career teachers are supported to develop their teaching, capture evidence of learning and measure and understand their impact.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of the systems, processes and practices you have established to develop early career teachers’ professional expertise and wellbeing.
2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites, or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
Outstanding Reconciliation Initiatives
This award recognises and celebrates the reconciliation activities undertaken by people within the department.
It acknowledges that everyone has a role to play in building reconciliation and acknowledges peoples' commitment to implementing outstanding reconciliation initiatives.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of how you have implemented reconciliation initiatives and experiences to build two-way relationships based on trust and respect for Aboriginal histories and cultures.
2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites, or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
Excellence in Collective Wellbeing
This award recognises people who create the systems and structures that contribute towards collective wellbeing.
Their efforts enable our employees, children and young people to connect, succeed and thrive by supporting them to contribute to their own wellbeing, the wellbeing of their peers and the collective wellbeing of their communities.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of how the systems, structures and approaches implemented contribute to individual and collective wellbeing outcomes.
2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites, or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
Aunty Josie Agius Award
Open to all Aboriginal employees or teams working in the Department for Education.
This award recognises the cultural and community expertise of Aboriginal employees and the vital role they play in inspiring and influencing the development of culturally sensitive and responsive services or teaching practices. It celebrates our colleagues who are inspiring young minds, delivering the richest learning experiences or building policy and programs that respect culture and community.
Aboriginal employees are vital to achieving excellence in education. They’re leaders who share their culture and use their strengths to build collective responsibility for high achievement and strong relationships based on trust, respect and cultural pride.
The Aunty Josie Agius Award has a different selection process than the other Awards. A council of representatives will support facilitate nominations. They will short-list individuals via an interview process which addresses the criteria.
You are encouraged to complete the online nomination form to nominate a peer or yourself for this award.
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of the impact you have had, including your First Nations’ knowledge and perspective, on improving site or system outcomes, learner achievement, engagement, or wellbeing (either directly or indirectly).
2. Networked practice
Describe how you or your team have delivered significant improvements in education services or made an authentic and meaningful contribution to the learning experiences of children and young people. Outline how you have contributed to a culturally sensitive and responsive workplace or learning environment.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you've successfully engaged and supported parents and carers as partners in their children’s learning or how you've collaborated with colleagues to share and develop best practices. Outline how you've shared your expertise and knowledge to help develop others understanding of Aboriginal culture, language, and perspectives on education, within and beyond your local context.
Excellence in Leadership
This award recognises outstanding leaders who engage hearts and minds and are catalysts for improvement.
It acknowledges leaders who actively engage with and support colleagues across networks and act to deepen and expand their diverse relationships to achieve impact. The award acknowledges leaders who cultivate high expectations, provide an empowering environment and lead adaptively to enable employees to thrive and achieve positive outcomes.
Respond to each criteria using no more than 250 words per criteria:
1. Positive impact
Provide evidence of how you actively engage and support others and establish environments where people thrive and prosper to achieve positive outcomes.
2. Networked practice
Describe how your work has influenced others and informed new ways of working at your site, across sites, or more broadly across the community.
3. Inspiring engagement
Explain how you’ve effectively engaged with a variety of stakeholders to inform and enhance this practice.
