The work of trainee educators will gain deserved recognition at the Kent Teacher of the Year Awards.

Organised by the KM Charity Team, the awards aim to showcase the dedication and innovation of benchmark educators from across Kent and Medway.

There will be separate awards for the county as a whole and for its different districts, for primary, secondary and further education, and in categories ranging from head teachers and school business managers to support staff and volunteers.

And awards judging organisation the University of Greenwich is particularly keen to see nominations for trainee teachers.

Alison Hales is a senior lecturer at the university’s Department of Education.

She said: “We’ve been training teachers for over 100 years now, so we’re really, really passionate about them.

“Awards like this mean so much for the teaching profession, and we really should be celebrating all those excellent teachers out there that prepare our little ones for their future learning.”

Last year, the Kent trainee teacher of the year was Robert Houghton of Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School in Dover.

KM Charity Team acting general manager Karen Brinkman echoed Ms Hales’ comments, saying: “We’re delighted that the University of Greenwich is involved with the Kent Teacher of the Year Awards again in 2020.

“As Alison says, it has an enormous amount of experience when it comes to teacher training, and that expertise will be absolutely invaluable when it comes to finding the very best trainee teachers in the county.

“Trainee teachers thoroughly deserve the recognition and boost that these awards could provide, as starting out in the classroom can be an extremely challenging experience.

“So I would urge as many people as possible to submit nominations for this category.

“Anyone can do so, whether you are colleague, a parent, a pupil, a school governor or a friend.

“And the online nomination process is extremely easy to complete.”

Apart from the University of Greenwich, the other judging organisations are Kreston Reeves, Kape HR, Thinking Schools Academy Trust, KCS, The Education People, Loop CR, Ashford International Hotel, Streetspace, Canterbury Christ Church University, Diggerland, Salus, Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, Kent Further Education and Specialised Sports Products.

Nominations for the awards must be submitted by 11.59pm on March 1, and the winners will be revealed at a ceremony in mid-May at the Ashford International Hotel.

To find out more and submit nominations, visit KentTeacheroftheYear.co.uk.

And watch a video in which Alison Hales talks about the awards here: