Personal Finance Teacher of the Year Awards 2021: nominations open

Win money for your school by helping interactive investor identify the best personal finance teachers.

• Win money for your school by helping us identify Britain’s best personal finance teachers
• £25,000 prize pot for winning schools
• £50 vouchers for the first 250 teachers who enter

Nominations are open for the 2021 interactive investor Personal Finance Teacher of the Year Awards – one of the most prestigious awards recognising creative money education.

With thousands of lessons taking place online in the past year there has never been a better time for parents to witness just how imaginative their children’s teachers are.

The main prize pot is £25,000, shared out among the winning teachers’ schools. Last year there were cash prizes for six schools. For the best primary school teachers teaching personal finance, there were two joint winners as well as a runner up. For the best secondary school teacher, there was one winner and two highly commended awards.

The first 250 teachers who submit an entry, will receive a £50 Amazon voucher.

To nominate a teacher, parents, carers, or pupils should email teacher@ii.co.uk with the teacher’s name along with the name and address of the school, by Friday 29 October 2021. We will then approach the teacher and ask them to submit their lesson plan and brief supporting statement (teachers will need to submit this by Sunday 14 November 2021).

Teachers can also nominate themselves, by emailing teacher@ii.co.uk with a lesson plan and supporting statement by Sunday 14 November 2021.

Last year’s winners included primary school teacher Emma Muckalt from Arkholme Church of England Primary School, Carnforth, Lancashire, who challenged her class of five-year-olds to think about budgeting and making tough financial choices. She set up a shop catering to the needs of ‘Baby Rainbow’ – and gave them £10 to spend on items like a baby bottle (£1), milk (£2), sponge (£2), baby clothes (£2), wipes (£1), bath (£3) and chocolate (£5). When their money ran out they had to take items back and work out a priority of needs.

Guy Acres, our other joint winner from Joseph Hood Primary School, London, used his origami skills, acquired while teaching in Japan, to encourage his 10-11-year old students to set up a paper aeroplane business with no capital. The students had to borrow money for paper, pay interest on the loans and taxes on profits and grapple with the challenges of getting to market first, marketing internationally and the perils of moving exchange rates. 

Darren Collins, winner of the secondary school category and teacher at The Sittingbourne School, Sittingbourne, Kent held an imaginative “Who wants to be a Millionaire” series of online assemblies during the first lockdown with an Amazon bestselling money author to teach 15-16-year-olds about how the stock market works, the power of compound interest and disciplined saving.

Moira O’Neill, Head of Personal Finance at interactive investor, said: “Personal finance is a relatively small part of curriculums across the UK, but the skills taught are vital and if the lessons are to stick then they need to be taught with imagination and skill. I never cease to marvel at how creative teachers can be in putting together ambitious lesson plans that drive life-long personal finance messages home. We want to recognise and reward that skill.”

Richard Wilson, Chief Executive, interactive investor says: “This year again schools have been massively disrupted by Covid-19 but, despite the daunting obstacles, teachers across the country have risen to the challenge - both online and in person – to help our children learn. One positive effect of remote learning is that many parents and carers have seen teachers’ efforts and creativity in supporting vital life skills like personal finance. This award is an opportunity for families to celebrate that energy and expertise with nominations. For teachers, it is a chance to showcase their skills and be recognised by their peers and local community – some previous winners have even appeared in national media.

“We think personal finance teaching is so important we have created a £25,000 prize fund, plus financial incentives to encourage entries and compensate teachers for their valuable time. We are excited to see this year’s entries – please spread the word. It’s a great accolade for teachers and a meaningful prize for schools.”

How to enter

To nominate a teacher, parents, carers, or pupils should email teacher@ii.co.uk with the teacher’s name along with the name and address of the school, by Friday 29 October 2021. We will then approach the teacher and ask them to submit their lesson plan and brief supporting statement (teachers will need to submit this by Sunday 14 November 2021).

Teachers can also nominate themselves – again, by emailing teacher@ii.co.uk with a lesson plan and supporting statement by Sunday 14 November 2021.

Editor’s notes:

Personal Finance Teacher of the Year – Competition Terms and Conditions

The competition is open to all qualified teachers employed at a primary or secondary school in the United Kingdom, but nominations can be made by anyone who is resident in the UK (including parents, guardians, and pupils).

How to enter:

Nominations can be made by anyone (including parents, guardians, and pupils) who is resident in the UK. They should be emailed to teacher@ii.co.uk by by Friday 29 October 2021 with the teacher’s name, and the name and address of the school. Teachers will then be contacted and asked to submit at least one lesson plan for a personal finance lesson and a supporting statement.

Teachers can also nominate themselves by sending at least one lesson plan for a personal finance lesson and a supporting statement by Sunday 14 November 2021, along with their name, the name and address of the school and their email address and telephone number. The first 250 teachers who submit an entry for themselves will each receive a £50 Amazon voucher.

Only one entry may be submitted by any person.

The prizes:

The following prizes will be awarded to schools:

Personal Finance Teacher of the Year (primary school) 

Personal Finance Teacher of the Year (secondary school) 

Runner-up prizes, Judges' Awards and Highly Commended prizes may be awarded at the judges' discretion. The full prize money will total £25,000. 

All prize money will be awarded to the school.

Interactive investor Services Limited reserves the right to alter, withdraw or amend this competition at any time.

Winner selection and notification:

The winners will be selected by a panel of judges selected by Interactive investor Services Limited. Judging will be on the basis of the lesson plans and supporting statements supplied.

The winners will be notified by mail, email, telephone or in person as soon as reasonably practicable after the judges have made their decisions. The notification will include details of how the prize can be claimed. In the event that a winner does not accept their prize, interactive investor services Limited reserves the right to select an alternative winner.

Personal Details:

The winners consent to the use by Interactive Investor Services Limited of the winner's name, and school name and town/City, for the sole purposes of announcing the winners. By claiming the prizes, all winners consent to the same.

Winners consent to their photos, names and the name of their school being used by interactive investor. By claiming the prizes, all winners consent to the same.

Winners consent to their photos, names and the name of their school being used by other media unconnected with interactive investor. By claiming the prizes, all winners consent to the same.

By allowing their nominations to be considered by the judges, all participants agree to be bound by these terms and confirm that the decision of Interactive Investor Services Limited is binding.

The competition will be governed by English law and entrants to the competition submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Promoter:

The competition is run by Interactive Investor Services Limited, 201 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3NW.