2 May 2012: SHINE-funded projects have always used innovative and exciting teaching resources and methods to engage underachieving students and improve their grades. Now we’re taking this process one step further… 

This year SHINE is teaming up with the Times Educational Supplement to launch Let Teachers SHINE – a competition to find the country’s most innovative literacy and numeracy teachers.

Let Teachers SHINE is open to any qualified teacher working in England with students aged up to 18. We want to hear about the most innovative ideas to raise literacy and/or numeracy attainment in disadvantaged students.

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To avoid closing off any potential proposals, we’re being deliberately vague – “ideas” could cover teaching resources, approaches, techniques and/or programmes. Winning proposals might involve innovative use of technology or superb after-school programmes. They could include unique teaching activities for groups or for individual students. Equally, however, they might be none of these.

How it works

The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 10th June 2012. You can download an application form here.

Shortlisted teachers will be invited to come to London to discuss their proposal in more detail with our judges, who will include representatives of both SHINE and the TES. The judges will then choose up to 10 winning projects. Each one will receive up to £15,000 from SHINE.

This money will fund a year-long pilot programme to demonstrate that the initiative can achieve measurable improvements in the literacy and/or numeracy of disadvantaged students. For this reason, the pilot must benefit disadvantaged students – either at the teacher’s school, or living nearby.

At the end of the year (summer 2013), we will review all the pilot programmes. The most successful will be considered for continued funding to allow them to expand and develop further in the years ahead.

Starting big

Paul Carbury, SHINE’s Chief Executive, said: “This is the first in what will become an annual competition for innovative ideas to raise attainment among disadvantaged students, and we’re starting off by focusing on the most essential skills – literacy and numeracy.”

He continued: “We hope to receive a wide range of ideas. But obviously they need to work on the ground, so we’re looking for proposals that have clearly defined objectives, a sensible and transparent budget, and the potential to be scaled up in future years. What’s more, they must be innovative. We are looking for genuinely fresh thinking.”

Gerard Kelly, editor of TES, said: “With the current government placing a renewed emphasis on the importance of good teachers, there has never been a more suitable time to launch a competition like this one. The TES website already enables teachers to share resources and we are a proud sponsor of our Schools Awards, so joining forces with SHINE to find some of the country’s most exciting and innovative teachers is a natural next step.“