INFORMATION: How do these Awards work? PART ONE

WHAT ARE THESE AWARDS ABOUT?
The prestigious Minister’s Arts Education Awards recognise Arts educators’ outstanding achievements in South Australian schools.
The awards are designed to:
· Acknowledge and celebrate the valuable contribution made by outstanding Arts educators.
· Celebrate the role of Arts education and its place in the community.
· Identify Arts educators who are creative and innovative in guiding children
and young people to realise their potential.
· Provide opportunities for outstanding teachers of The Arts to engage in
quality professional learning in The Arts.

HOW MANY AWARDS ARE THERE AND WHAT ARE THE CATEGORIES?
One Award is available in each of the following five categories:
1. Public School Category
Primary Teacher of the Arts
Secondary Teacher of the Arts

2. Non-Government School Category
Primary Teacher of the Arts
Secondary Teacher of the Arts

3. Early Career Category ***
Teacher of the Arts in their first five years of teaching (can come from any sector or system – Public Education, Catholic or Independent)

***EXTRA INFO RE THE EARLY CAREER CATEGORY:
Early Career Educators teaching journey can include contract, TRT and on-going appointments.
Early Career Educators can also apply for other categories of the Awards.
The Panel can choose to consider any applicant who is in their first 5 years of teaching who applied in any Category as a potential recipient of the Early Career Award.

WHAT DO SUCCESSFUL AWARDEES RECEIVE?
Award recipients receive $8 000 to support their professional learning.
This Award funding is intended to be predominantly used to support an individual educator’s professional development; however, some funds may be used for student and community activities that relate to the recipient’s professional development. The funding's key purpose is to provide Awardees with opportunities to further develop innovation, best practice and leadership of The Arts.
The Award funding is provided for expenditure during the 2026 calendar year.

WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA?
· You have NOT won a Minister’s Arts Education Award before
· You are a teacher currently working in a South Australian school relevant to
the category you are applying for
· You must be intending to teach in the Arts field in 2026
· Your Principal/Line Manager must be supportive of your application
· Your application is complete and adheres to the word counts
· You must be able to attend the Educators SA State World Teachers Day
Award ceremony at Adelaide Over on the evening of the 31st October 2025
to receive your Award from the Minister for Education, Training and Skills.
· You must provide consent for your name and image to be used by Educators
SA, the Department for Education, CESA, or AISSA, by providing a completing a relevant consent form
· You must, as required, be willing to be videoed and/or talk with media, for
the purpose of marketing the Awards
· You must be willing to share your professional learning with colleagues
through an event organised by Educators SA or an Arts Professional
Association, so that your experiences can be of benefit to the broader Arts
education community
· You are required to submit a short report to Educators SA outlining the out
comes of your professional learning by the end of 2026

T