Leadership in schools rarely looks like the job title suggests.
It looks like a head of department staying late to support a colleague through a difficult term. It looks like a headteacher who remembers every student’s name and notices the one having a hard day before anyone says a word. It looks like decisions made quietly, away from any spotlight, that go on to shape what a school becomes.
This year, we wanted to find those people and give them the recognition they rarely ask for. That’s why we’ve launched the Education Leadership Awards.
Six ways to lead. One thing in common
There are six award categories, each one designed to capture a different dimension of what great leadership looks like in education.
The Cultural Leader Award asks: do you know a leader who has made their school feel different, safer, prouder, more alive? The Strategic Leader Award looks for the person who sees further than the immediate and builds what others only imagine. The Curriculum Leader Award celebrates the leader whose students leave knowing more, understanding more, and believing they are capable of more.
The Community Leader Award recognises leaders who understand that a school’s influence does not stop at the gate. The Wellbeing Leader Award is for the person who sees the whole person and makes sure no one is invisible. And the Inclusion Leader Award honours those who refuse to let any young person be written off.
Each category is open across primary, secondary, post-16, and trust settings, so leadership at every level of the sector has its own place here. That means six categories, four sectors, and 24 routes to recognition for the leaders doing this work every day.
Who can nominate?
Anyone who has worked alongside a leader they believe deserves this recognition. You don’t need a formal title or a specific relationship. You need a story.
The nomination platform guides you through three short video questions. You’ll see each one on screen before you record, so there are no surprises. The first asks you to describe your nominee in three words. The second asks why they deserve this award, and the most compelling nominations here tend to focus on a specific moment rather than a general statement. The third asks about impact: what’s different today because this person showed up?
That’s it. Three questions, around eight minutes, completed in a single sitting. The process is completely free, at every stage.
Every nominee receives a personalised video to share, regardless of the outcome. Every winner receives a stunning glass award at the ceremony in February 2027, with the nominations being judged by education leaders themselves.
How to nominate
Before you start, it helps to have a few things ready: your nominee’s full name as they’d want it to appear on a national award, their job title and school or organisation, and their email address so they can be notified and receive their personalised video.
Then head to the nomination page and let the platform do the rest.
Someone in your world deserves to be seen. Eight minutes is all it takes.
