Terms and conditions

The competition

The Pearson English Language Teacher Awards 2024 (the “competition”) is a global online competition designed to celebrate the educators that enable and inspire learners to be themselves in English. The competition will run from 15 August 2024 3:01am CST (the “opening time”) to midnight on 1 November 2024 CST (the “closing time”) inclusive.

As explained below, there are award five categories:

Teaching Young Minds English
Empowering Teen Confidence in English
Cultivating Lifelong Learners in English
Innovation in English Language Teaching
Rising Stars of English Language Teaching

Up to one Gold award, Silver award and Bronze award winner will be selected in each category.

The competition is conducted by Pearson Education Limited of 80 Strand, London WC2 0RL with company number 872828 (“Pearson”) and will be run and administered online via the Teachers Awards 2024 website (the “site”).

How to enter

Entrance and participation in the competition is subject to these terms and conditions. In order to nominate yourself or another person to enter the competition, you (and anyone you nominate) need to satisfy the eligibility criteria set out below and take the following steps:

Submit a completed entry form between the opening time and the closing time. All competition entries received after the closing time will be automatically disqualified.
The entry form can be found on the site, and to submit it you must choose one of the five award categories and answer this question in 600-1000 characters: How do you/this teacher build learners’ confidence to be themselves in English?
The entry form gives you the option to upload a file containing your nomination answer. Please note that only documents containing written answers will be accepted. Any other uploads will not be entered into the competition and will be deleted.
The entry form will also ask you to include certain details about yourself or the person you are nominating (including full name, email address, school/organisation name, country, role position and (where applicable) relationship to nominee).
The nominator must inform the nominee of their nomination and confirm their willingness to participate prior to submitting the form.
By submitting the form, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions. If you are nominated by someone else, you will be asked to confirm that you agree to be entered into the competition and to these terms and conditions if selected as a finalist.
Upon submission of the nomination form, all nominees will automatically receive a confirmation email notifying them of their nomination and will explain how to withdraw from the Pearson English Language Teacher Awards 2024 (by emailing us) and providing other relevant details (including a link to these terms and conditions and the privacy policy). Withdrawals will be processed within 48 hours.
Pearson may contact nominators or nominees about the competition using the details provided in the entry form.
If you are nominating yourself, you can enter the competition once. If you are nominating another person, you may submit only one entry per nominee. Duplicate entries for the same nominee by the same nominator will not be reviewed and only the first submission received will be considered for the awards. If multiple nominators nominate the same educator, all submissions will be reviewed, but only one entry per nominee will be considered.

Pearson may, at its discretion, change the award category for which any entry is made. For example, if an entry intended for "Teaching Young Minds English" recognises an educator who inspires adult learners to build confidence in English, Pearson may reclassify it under “Cultivating Lifelong Learners in English".

Pearson may in its sole discretion also work with certain partners regarding the competition (who may provide support or endorsement of selected award categories and resources for the judging panel). However, Pearson retains full ownership and control of the awards process, including the final selection of winners.

Eligibility criteria

Only individuals aged eighteen (18) or over can participate in the competition (by nominating or being nominated). If you are under eighteen (18) and there is someone you want to nominate then please speak to your parent or guardian and ask them to submit a nomination for that person.

The competition is open to (i) any head, deputy head teacher, teaching assistant or a lecturer in an establishment currently teaching English as a foreign language (English language teacher) anywhere in the world (excluding the below list of restricted countries) from all schools whether state maintained or independent, or (ii) any person who wants to nominate a person falling within list (i), except from the list below.

Employees of Pearson or its holding or subsidiary companies who are professionally connected with the competition or its administration
Employees of any partners, agents, suppliers of Pearson or its holding or subsidiary companies, who are supporting the competition or professionally connected with the competition or its administration; or
Members of the immediate families or households of (1) and (2) above or of the person they have nominated
Any nationals of, or persons located in, the following Restricted Countries/Regions: Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar (Burma), North Korea, Syria, South Korea, Sudan, Russia, Crimea/Sevastapol region, and Donbas, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine
Any person listed on a US or International blocked party or other watchlist
Any person located in a jurisdiction where entry into this competition is prohibited

Pearson reserves all rights to disqualify any entrant (including nominees and nominators) at any time, including if Pearson has reason to believe an entry is not in accordance with these terms and conditions, if Pearson considers an entry or anyone’s conduct to be contrary to the spirit or intention of the competition, if you do not comply with the age criteria, if you are located in a jurisdiction where entry into this competition is prohibited or for any other reason. Any such decisions shall be at the sole discretion of Pearson.

Pearson will not accept responsibility for competition entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit, regardless of cause. For example, as a result of equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware or software failure of any kind. Please do not send proof of posting or transmission as proof of receipt of entry to the competition, as this is an online competition only. Competition entries cannot be returned.

In all matters, Pearson’s decision is final, including deciding whether an entry is valid, the eligibility criteria are satisfied, the winners, and awarding of any prize.

The judging process

The competition entries will be judged by an experienced panel of global judges, which includes current ELT writers, teachers, teacher trainers, educational specialists, authors and industry leaders. Pearson reserve the right to conduct a pre-selection process of entries by suitably qualified Pearson staff. The identity of the judges is in Pearson’s sole discretion and the decision of the panel of judges (acting reasonably) will be final, and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into or feedback provided after the decision is made.

Judges will review submissions using the following criteria:

Category fit: How well does the submission meet the criteria outlined in the award category description?
Confidence building: Does the submission demonstrate an understanding of the unique needs and challenges in building learners’ confidence in English?
Outcomes: What results and outcomes have been achieved as a result of the nominee’s dedication?

The prizes

Pearson intends to award up to one (1) gold, one (1) silver and one (1) bronze winner selected from each of the five categories:

Teaching Young Minds English
Empowering Teen Confidence in English
Cultivating Lifelong Learners in English
Innovation in English Language Teaching
Rising Stars of English Language Teaching

The Gold Prize package (5 total – 1 per category) will consist of the following components:

A flight, hotel, and ticket to a regional professional conference. The specific professional conference that the gold winner attends will be decided by Pearson. The professional conference will be considered based on the winner’s country of residence, but the final decision rests with Pearson.
Up to £500 in-kind credit towards professional development from Pearson English Language Learning’s professional development webpage. This includes accredited teacher qualifications and professional development programs, subject to course availability. Note: There is no cash alternative for the professional development courses and prize does not include Trinity CertPD.
Up to 500 Mondly by Pearson annual licenses available for use in the winner's school. Licenses are available for one (1) year from the time of redemption.
A Pearson English Journey package valued up to £1,000. The package, made in consultation with the winner, may consist of courses, assessments and/or certifications appropriate to the winner's category and the needs of their institution.

The Silver Prize package (5 total – 1 per category) will consist of the following components:

Up to 500 Mondly by Pearson annual licenses available for use in the winner's school. Licenses are available for 1 year from the time of redemption.
Up to £250 in-kind credit towards professional development from Pearson English Language Learning’s professional development webpage. This includes accredited teacher qualifications and professional development programs, subject to course availability. Note: There is no cash alternative for the professional development courses and prize does not include Trinity CertPD.

The Bronze Prize package (5 total – 1 per category) will consist of the following components:

Up to 500 Mondly by Pearson annual licenses available for use in the winner's school. Licenses are available for 1 year from the time of redemption.
Up to £250 in-kind credit towards professional development from Pearson English Language Learning’s professional development webpage. This includes accredited teacher qualifications and professional development programs, subject to course availability. Note: There is no cash alternative for the professional development courses and prize does not include Trinity CertPD.

Prizes are subject to availability and the prize packages may be changed at any time by Pearson in its sole discretion. There is no cash alternative for the prizes and the prizes are not negotiable or transferable. If you win a prize you agree that you shall be responsible for any tax and regulatory liabilities regarding the prize. The prize, or any unused portion of the prize, is non-exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash. Pearson reserves the right to substitute the prize of equivalent or greater value (if this is necessary for any reason). If you are selected as a winner you may be required to agree to additional terms and conditions applicable to the prizes in order to access the prizes. The Mondly by Pearson licences included as part of the prize packages are available for use by individuals aged 13+, and in some jurisdictions a parent will be required to sign up on behalf of their child.

Finalist announcement

Pearson will contact the finalists, using the email address provided with the competition entry between 1 November 2024 and 14 November 2024 to inform them of the fact they have been chosen and seek certain confirmations. All finalists will be required to agree to the terms set out in the email in order to be considered for an award and confirm if they are able to attend the award ceremony. The finalists of the competition will be publicly announced on or around 14 November 2024 and finalists will be invited to attend the virtual awards ceremony on 21 November 2024. A list of finalists may be used across various owned Pearson channels, including the site and any other media. Pearson may contact finalists to participate in marketing and promotional related activities including for but not limited to videos, testimonials, social media posts and case studies.

Winner announcement

The winners of the competition will be announced at the online awards ceremony on or around 21 November 2024 (“announcement date”). A list of winners may be used across various owned Pearson channels, including the site and any other media from the announcement date for a period of at least 30 days. Pearson may contact winners to participate in marketing and promotional related activities including for but not limited to videos, testimonials, social media posts and case studies.

Claiming the prizes

If you are the winner of a prize, we will contact you by 21 November 2024 via email. You then have until 29 November 2024 to claim the prize by responding to the communication you receive from Pearson informing you that you have won. If you do not claim the prize by this date, your claim will become invalid. Your prize may not be claimed by a third party on your behalf.

Pearson will make all reasonable efforts to contact the winners and deliver the prizes. If a winner cannot be contacted or is not available, or has not claimed their prize by 29 November 2024, Pearson reserves the right to offer the prize to the next eligible entrant selected from the correct entries that were received before the closing time. Pearson will make reasonable efforts to deliver prizes to winners in accordance with the delivery arrangements agreed with each winner, but reserves the right to invalidate the awarding of a prize if for any reason it is not possible to deliver the prizes in a reasonable time. Pearson does not accept any responsibility if a winner does not receive a prize for the reasons set out in this paragraph or other reasons outside Pearson’s control.

Limitation of liability

Insofar as is permitted by law, Pearson, its agents or distributors will not, in any circumstances, be responsible or liable to compensate the winner or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize, except where it is caused by the negligence of Pearson, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected.

Ownership of competition entries and intellectual property rights

All competition entries and any accompanying material submitted to Pearson will become the property of Pearson on receipt and will not be returned.

By submitting a competition entry and any accompanying material, you agree that:

You have all the relevant rights and permissions to upload the entry and any accompanying material;
You assign to Pearson all your intellectual property rights with full title guarantee; and
You waive all moral rights, in and to your Competition entry and otherwise arising in connection with your entry to which you may now or at any time in the future be entitled under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 as amended from time to time and under all similar legislation from time to time in force anywhere in the world.

You agree that Pearson may, but is not required to, make your entry available on the site and any other media, whether now known or invented in the future, and in connection with any publicity of the competition. You agree to grant Pearson a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable licence, for the full period of any intellectual property rights in the competition entry and any accompanying materials to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store, reformat and sublicense the competition entry and any accompanying materials for such purposes.

Data protection and publicity

If you are the winner or a finalist in the competition, you agree that Pearson may use your name, image and town or county of residence to announce the finalists and the winners of this competition and for any other reasonable and related promotional purposes. Pearson will have all rights to such promotional materials and may use it for its own marketing activities. You further agree to participate in any reasonable publicity required by Pearson.

By entering the Competition, you agree that any personal information provided by you with the competition entry may be held and used only by Pearson or its agents and suppliers to administer the competition. Personal information gathered in the course of this competition will be collected and used in order to conduct the competition and as set out in these Terms and Conditions, and in accordance with Pearson’s Privacy Policy.

General

If Pearson, at its sole and exclusive discretion, believes that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, Pearson may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude you from participating in the competition.

Pearson reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the prize competition in its sole discretion, including where it becomes necessary to do so.

These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. If any provision is found to be unenforceable or invalid, this will not affect the continuation of the remainder of the provisions in full force and effect.