Teachers invited to apply for £25,000 grants to bring classroom ideas to life
The deadline for applications is 13 January 2027
Education charity SHINE is inviting teachers across England to apply for funding to develop projects that could improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children in the North of England.
SHINE, the education charity, has opened applications for its 2027 Let Teachers SHINE competition, offering grants of up to £25,000 over two years to help practising teachers turn their ideas into projects that make a difference to children’s learning.
The annual competition supports teachers to develop and test approaches to tackling barriers to education, particularly for children from low-income backgrounds. Alongside funding, successful applicants receive dedicated training, expert advice and access to a network of like-minded teachers through SHINE’s accelerator programme.
Since its launch in 2012, Let Teachers SHINE has supported 150 teachers to develop their ideas, helping to bring projects with the potential to improve educational outcomes to life. Its alumni include the creators of Times Tables Rock Stars, Vocabulous, and Boromi – projects that began with teachers identifying a problem in their classrooms and developing their own solutions.
The 2026 competition saw eight teachers share £170,000 in funding. Their projects included a digital science learning platform, a family literacy programme and an AI platform to help absent students catch up on missed learning.
Applications to the 2027 competition are open to qualified, practising teachers across England, including those working in early years settings, schools and colleges. Projects must either be based in the North of England or demonstrate a clear commitment and capacity to develop their work in northern schools.
SHINE is seeking projects that address significant barriers to learning in English, maths or science, with a particular focus on improving outcomes for disadvantaged children.
Judges will be looking for ideas that offer something different from existing provision, can be tested to assess their impact and have the potential to become sustainable over the longer term.
Fiona Spellman, CEO of SHINE, said: “Teachers are best placed to recognise the barriers that are holding their pupils back and to come up with practical ways to overcome them.
“Through Let Teachers SHINE, we want to give those teachers the funding, time and support to develop their ideas, test what works and reach more children.
“Many of the approaches that have made the biggest difference to children’s learning started with a simple idea in a classroom. We want to help more of those ideas become a reality.”
The competition is open until midnight on Wednesday 13 January 2027. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to present their proposals to a judging panel via video call in March, with successful applicants expected to be notified by the end of the month. Funding will be awarded in summer 2027, with projects starting in September.
Teachers interested in applying can find out more about the competition, read the application guidelines and access the online application form at shinetrust.org.uk/what-we-do/let-teachers-shine/.