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Entering the Public Education Awards

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    The Public Education Awards recognise excellence and equity in public education across ºÚÁϳԹÏ. The awards celebrate the innovation, passion and expertise that drive our public education system.

    About the awards

    The Public Education Awards were established in 2011, to recognise the vital role our people play in helping children and young people to learn and thrive The awards offer a chance for everyone to celebrate our achievements, be proud of our work and where we are heading together.

    All employees are encouraged to help recognise great practice and success in public education at your site so we can celebrate, learn and grow together. Nominate an outstanding team, colleague or yourself for an award. This year you can also nominate community members, individuals or teams, who have made a significant contribution to the site community for the Community Impact Award.

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

    Video: Public Education Awards showreel

    Public Education Awards showreel - video transcript

    Public education is for every child and young person in every community across our state.

    Department for Education employees work in partnership with families, communities, and each other to nurture and empower ºÚÁϳԹϒs children and young people with the knowledge, skills, and capabilities they need to learn and thrive.

    The Public Education Awards celebrate the dedication and outstanding contributions made by our people, allowing us to recognise and share the innovation, passion, and expertise that lies at the heart of our public education system.

    End of transcript.

    Key dates 2025

    • Nominations open: 1 to 30 June
    • Judging: July to August
    • Finalists announced: 1 September
    • Filming of finalists: September
    • Awards ceremony: 7 November.

    Reasons to nominate

    The Public Education Awards provide a platform to share stories of excellence and inspire others within the education system. They recognise and celebrate the achievements of individuals, teams and the whole community.

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

    This is an opportunity to celebrate excellence and equity in education, fostering a culture of recognition and continuous improvement.

    The awards recognise great practice and success in public education at your site so we can celebrate, learn and grow together.

    How to nominate

    The awards are open to all Department for Education employees. Nominations can be made from 1 to 30 June 2025.

    You can nominate yourself or on behalf of a colleague or team. Make sure you get permission if nominating 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. Individuals or teams that have previously been recognised as a winner or finalist in any category of the awards cannot resubmit a nomination for the same initiative in future years. Previous winners and finalists are only eligible to nominate with a different initiative.

    *The Aunty Josie Agius award category is only open to Aboriginal employees and teams. This excludes external contractors.

    *The Community Impact Award is open to our community members, individuals or teams, who have made a significant contribution to the site community. This may include:

    • parents or caregivers
    • coaches
    • members of site or governing councils
    • contractors
    • those that have been supportive of public education.

    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 be a limit on how many tickets the team can get for the awards night.

    Go to the online form to start filling out your nomination:

    You’ll need to create a login and follow the steps listed in the form. Form progress will be saved automatically as you go but we recommend manually saving your form at regular intervals.

    You can leave and revisit your nomination as many times as you need. Just make sure you finalise and submit the nomination before midnight 30 June 2025.

    If you wish to complete your nomination on a word document before entering the awards platform, you may use a nomination template  (on this page).

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

    How nominations will be assessed

    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. Judges are looking for initiatives that have a focus on impact, sustainability and scalability.

    Avoid acronyms or relying on assumed knowledge as judges may be unfamiliar with all areas of work across our system.

    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.

    Before submitting your nomination

    Before you submit your nomination make sure you've:

    • read the terms of entry in the nomination guide (PDF 1 MB)
    • answered all questions and addressed all criteria
    • checked carefully that there are no spelling errors (including names).

    It's also a good idea to ask a colleague to read through and check your nomination before you submit it.

    Submitting your nomination

    Use the online form to complete and submit your nomination before midnight 30 June 2025 (late entries won't be accepted):

    You'll receive a confirmation email once you've submitted your nomination.

    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.

    When finalists will be notified

    Nominees will be notified by 1 September if they've been selected as a finalist. Finalists will be sent an information pack so make sure all contact details are correct.

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

    Announcement of winners

    Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Friday 7 November 2025 at the Adelaide Convention Centre. The Minister for Education, Training and Skills and the Chief Executive of the Department for Education will present the awards.

    The event will also be streamed on .

    Tips for writing a good nomination

    The following tips and resources will help you write a good award nomination:

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

    Get inspiration for your nomination by viewing the winners and finalists for 2024.

    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
    • if you’re writing on behalf of someone, describe the context to give the judges a feel for the nominee/s
    • 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 assumed 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