Nord Anglia praises UK's educators ahead of Thank a Teacher Day

Nord Anglia praises UK's educators ahead of Thank a Teacher Day Selected from thousands of nominations, Pearson National Silver Award winners will be honoured on Wednesday June 23 for their outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children they work with every day. The winners, from primary schools, secondaries, and further education colleges, have now been shortlisted to win one of just 15 Gold Awards in their category in a programme which will be broadcast on the BBC later in the year. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the exceptional school staff who have worked wonders during an incredibly challenging time for educators across the United Kingdom.

Selected from thousands of nominations, Pearson National Silver Award winners will be honoured on Wednesday June 23 for their outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children they work with every day. 

The winners, from primary schools, secondaries, and further education colleges, have now been shortlisted to win one of just 15 Gold Awards in their category in a programme which will be broadcast on the BBC later in the year. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the exceptional school staff who have worked wonders during an incredibly challenging time for educators across the United Kingdom. 
 
The Silver Award winners are being honoured as part of the wider celebrations for ‘Thank a Teacher Day’, a national campaign to honour and recognise school staff for their incredible work. The celebrations follow new data which shows how the previous year’s lockdowns have significantly changed how families across the country view the role of teachers. 

New research from Parentkind and The Teaching Awards Trust highlights that three in four parents and carers have a newfound respect hold for the teaching profession following their experiences of remote learning during lockdown. 74.9% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they had more respect for the work that teachers do following their family’s experiences of remote learning.

The last year has seen a wealth of stories of teachers making care visits to vulnerable families, coming up with innovative ways of remote teaching, keeping their pupils settled by regularly checking in and even using their school sites for Covid-19 testing when classes did return to school. There has never been a better time to appreciate them and the vital work they do. 

The Pearson National Teaching Awards is an annual celebration of excellence in education,  founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they work with. This year marks its 22nd year of celebrating, award-winning teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and lecturers across the UK 

Sir Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate, and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said: “Thank a Teacher Day gives us all a chance -  children, families, all of us - to pay tribute to those wonderful educators who change more lives than they will ever know. Today we say thank you to the teachers who have helped our young people navigate these most difficult of times, and who will continue to inspire countless young minds over the coming years.”

Dr Elise Ecoff, Group Director of Education for Nord Anglia Education, said: “Congratulations to all the Silver Award winners on their fantastic achievement. The National Teaching Awards and Thank a Teacher Day is an important opportunity to recognise excellence in teaching and celebrate educators who are helping make a real difference to student learning through their passion and commitment. This has especially stood out in the last year with teachers using ingenuity, creativity and technology to inspire students.”

Sharon Hague, Senior Vice President of Schools at Pearson UK, said: “After a year like no other we want to take today to say thank you to all the incredible school staff who have kept children and young people learning despite unprecedented challenges. We hope the celebrations today show how much you are appreciated, and that your hard work has not gone unnoticed nor unrecognised.”