5 Ways to Make Your Festival of Learning Nomination a Winner
We’ve put together a guide of what we’re looking for that will help you write an effective nomination and celebrate your nominee’s achievements in the best way possible.
Learning is at the core of all our awards. We want to know what an individual learned, how they learned and why they chose to do the learning they have done. What motivated them to take that first step?
If you are nominating a tutor we want to know what the driving force behind their passion is, where they teach and who it is they are reaching. For employers and projects, tell us what the learning provision is, who else is involved, and what the intended outcomes are – who benefits, how have learners progressed?
Tell us how your nominee stands out from the rest! Previous award winners have included apprentices and apprenticeship providers, learners coping with the challenges of illness, disability and caring responsibilities; family learning initiatives and innovative educational schemes in prisons, sports clubs, hotels and hospitals. Awards have celebrated all kinds of learning from basic skills, literacy, numeracy, digital and employment skills to art, sport, science, health and much more. Festival of Learning Awards celebrate learning of all kinds.
How has learning changed your nominee’s life, or the lives of others?
We want to know what impact the learning has had, whether the learning led to life or career changes, or if it impacted the learner’s health and wellbeing? Did it lead to positive changes for the lives of family members, friends, colleagues or the community? Think about what the nominee’s life was like (or in the cases of nominations for tutors, projects and employers what their learners’ lives were like) before they started to learn and tell us about the difference it has made.
The process of learning itself may have had a profound impact upon an individual and inspired them to become an ambassador for learning. Are they giving back and helping people who have been in similar positions to themselves? Have they become a tutor or volunteer?
If you are nominating an employer or project, tell us about the impact the training initiative or programme has had on the learners, staff or community; what have they achieved? We’re also interested to know the positive impact/s your organisation has benefited from.
We want to read nominations that tell us about learners, tutors, employers or projects in a way that we can connect to them and their story. Share empowering stories with us that will motivate others to engage in learning for the first time and to realise they can also change their lives or the lives of others for the better.
We are looking for stories that will inspire others to share them with their friends and family, and stories that can help us influence policy makers. Tell us about the journey your nominee has taken, the “story behind the story”.
If you are nominating a tutor, have they had their own personal journey? For projects and employers, what events led to the formation of the project or learning scheme?
Your nomination should make us connect to the person or people it involves!
Each category and individual award has its own set of criteria. Read our guidance document to make sure your nominee meets our requirements before starting your nomination. You can also find out more about our special awards, how the nomination process works, campaign timelines and the publicity you can expect if your nominee is a winner.
If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.
Most importantly, start your nomination today! You can keep returning to it over time, but remember that both the nominator and nominee statements need to be completed and submitted by the deadline.