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Entering the Public Education Awards

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    The Public Education Awards celebrate the innovation, passion and expertise at the heart of our public education system. The awards showcase outstanding practice and the difference our people make to the lives of children and young people in South Australia.

    Award nominations open on 1 June 2024.

    About the awards

    The Public Education Awards were established in 2011 to showcase excellence and equity in public education. The awards provide the opportunity for everyone to celebrate our achievements, be proud of the work we've done and where we're heading together.

    All employees are encouraged to take time to reflect on moments where you’ve seen outstanding practice and outcomes across your site. And to nominate a team, colleague or self-nominate for an award.

    Winners and finalists receive prizes to undertake professional learning, community activities or invest in resources.

    Video: Public Education Awards 2023 showreel (1:18)

    Video transcript

    We strive to create an environment that encourages and facilitates both excellence and equity.

    We know that what makes the biggest difference of course are quality teachers, support staff, and principals. This is what public education has an abundance of, and this is what we're here to celebrate. You truly are champions of our public education system.

    Our school is committed to its values, and that is; excellence defined by each student's individual personal best, opportunity and creativity. They've become more innovative, critical thinkers, problem solvers. Student voice is important to her, and their dignity, so she will make sure that each child feels comfortable. A sense of belonging in their school.

    End of transcript.

    Key dates for 2024

    • Nominations open: 1 to 30 June
    • Judging: July to August
    • Finalists announced: September
    • Filming of finalists: September
    • Awards ceremony: November

    Reasons to nominate

    Our people are passionate about teaching and learning and we want to share our stories of excellence and equity in practice and inspire others.

    Winning a Public Education Award recognises and celebrates the achievements of individuals, teams and the whole community.

    We know many of our outstanding employees may be reluctant to put themselves forward, or simply may not recognise the impact they have with children and our young people or their site community.

    We’re encouraging peers, leaders, and colleagues to consider if they work with an outstanding individual or team who have had significant impact on the lives of our learners.

    How to nominate

    The awards are open to all Department for Education employees.

    Nominations can be submitted either personally or on behalf of a colleague or team. Make sure you get permission before submitting a nomination on behalf of someone else.

    Follow the advice on this page or read the nomination guide (PDF 1 MB) to learn how to make a nomination.

    Once you decide to nominate for the Awards it’s important to talk to your site leader or manager and choose the most appropriate category. Your principal or director will need to endorse your nomination after you submit it.

    View the award categories and choose 1 in which you can most comprehensively address all the award criteria.

    The categories are open to all employees of the Department for Education, excluding employees who were finalists or winners in the last 2 years (in 2022 or 2023), including as part of a team.

    The Aunty Josie Agius award category is only open to Aboriginal employees and teams.

    For team nominations there’s no limit to the number of team members you can include, as long as they’ve all made a significant contribution to the achievement or activity. There may, however, be a limit applied to the number of tickets available for the team to attend the awards night.

    Nominations can be submitted online from 1 to 30 June.

    You’ll need to create a login and follow the steps to complete your nomination.

    Your progress will be automatically saved so you can leave and revisit your nomination as many times as you need prior to 30 June, when your nomination must be submitted. It is however, recommended to save as you go.

    Judges will assess each nomination based on the criteria and level of evidence provided. Evidence is one of the most important parts of your nomination.

    Our judges want to read about the positive impact created, and how you have influenced others to enhance practice across sites, or more broadly across the community. Remember, judges may be unfamiliar with all areas of work across our system, so avoid acronyms or relying on assumed knowledge.

    Get tips for writing a good nomination (on this page).

    Your site leader or director will need to approve your nomination after you submit it. So, it's a good idea to discuss the nomination with them before submitting.

    Your nomination will then need to be endorsed by your education director or executive director.

    Nominations can be submitted online from 1 to 30 June.  Late entries will not be accepted.

    Ask a colleague to read through your nomination before submitting.

    Check carefully that there are no spelling errors (including names) and that you’ve answered all questions and addressed all criteria.

    Make sure you've also read the terms of entry on page 28 of the nomination guide (PDF 1 MB) before submitting your nomination.

    Once your nomination is complete, press ‘submit’. You’ll receive an email confirming your nomination has been submitted.

    To make sure all finalists are in good standing with the department, all nominations undergo a range of endorsements and internal checks.

    The Organisational Development Team will advise if you’re a finalist once all checks have been conducted and judging is complete.

    Selection process

    Once your nomination has been submitted, it is sent to delegated leaders for approval and endorsement. Approved and endorsed nominations then progress through a 2-stage judging process.

    The first round of judging panel comprises a mix of employees from a variety of locations across the Department.

    The shortlisted nominations are then sent to the state judging panel who select 1 winner and 2 finalists for each category. The state panel is chaired by the Chief Executive, Department for Education.

    The selection process for the Aunty Josie Agius Award is unique within the Public Education Awards program. A council of representatives will facilitate and support nominations before shortlisting individuals or teams through an interview process to address the criteria.

    Nominees will be notified by 2 September if they have been selected as a finalist. Finalists will be sent an information pack, so please make sure all contact details are correct.

    If you're selected as a finalist, check the information for finalists.

    Tips for writing a good nomination

    The following tips will help you write a good award nomination.

    Webinars are held during the nomination period. They cover how to nominate and what makes a good nomination.

    Email PublicEducationAwards@sa.gov.au to register.

    Get inspiration for your nomination by viewing the winners and finalists for 2023.

    You can also read testimonials from past winners.

    Examples of evidence may include:

    • learners have a strong sense of belonging and feel culturally safe
    • children and young people are actively engaged in and have agency in their learning
    • educators, children, families and the community work in partnership to achieve positive outcomes
    • learners are deeply engaged in critical and creative thinking
    • learners are empowered to develop the skills, attitudes and dispositions as lifelong learners
    • environments are established to value diversity and inclusion in the community.

    You can provide evidence in 2 supporting documents if needed. The file size must be 5MB or less.

    When writing your nomination:

    • the criteria is written in the first person however, if you are writing on behalf of an individual or team, consider it from their perspective
    • think about 1 good example and use the same example throughout each of the criteria, so that judges can see the impact and depth of the initiative
    • include headings, sub-headings and bullet points to make it easier to read
    • make sure your answers are clear and written in plain English
    • avoid using acronyms or relying on assuming knowledge
    • don’t skip over the detail – you’re allowed 250 words for each criteria.

    Consider following the STAR model to structure your responses:

    • Situation: What was the situation, context, or challenge faced?
    • Task: What needed to be accomplished, what role did you play?
    • Action: What did you do and how did you go about it?
    • Result: What results or outcomes were achieved and what did you learn?

    If you wish to work on your nomination offline before submitting, you can use a nomination template. You can then copy and paste your answers from the template into the online nomination form.

    Organisational Development Team

    Phone: 8463 4985
    Email: PublicEducationAwards [at] sa.gov.au