THE Telegraph & Argus is once again asking people to nominate inspiring individuals and schools for the annual Schools Awards.

The awards have become a highlight of the educational calendar since they were first set up in 2014 as a way of recognising the good work in Bradford’s school, work that is often overlooked.

Since then dozens of teachers, support staff, governors, leaders and schools have been honoured for their work to make the Bradford district a better place.

Nominations are now open for the 2018 awards, which will be held at a glittering black-tie ceremony at the Aagrah Midpoint in Thornbury in March.

As in previous years, there will be 12 categories, spanning all aspects of school life from teaching to governors to how well school engage with their local communities.

The awards were set up in partnership with Bradford Council, and other sponsors for this year’s awards include The Broadway Shopping Centre and Craven College.

Nominees could include a teacher that has helped a child reach their potential, a project that has helped create a buzz about science among young minds, or a volunteer who has given countless hours to helping their local school be its best.

Each year we have been inundated with nominations, and we are now asking you to make sure that there are just as many this year. Nominations can come from parents, co-workers, students or anyone who knows someone who is doing great work in the district’s schools.

People can nominate in the following 12 categories.

The Nursery/Primary Teacher of the Year category is to celebrate outstanding achievement or dedication of an individual nursery or primary school teacher, responsible for inspiring and engaging children at the start of their education.

Secondary Teacher of the Year is the category to celebrate the outstanding achievement and dedication of secondary school teachers, and in past years has proven the category with the highest number of nominations.

The Newcomer of the Year category celebrates the achievements of teachers who are new to the profession and have made an instant impact.

The award is open to teachers in either the primary, secondary, special school or college sectors, but who have only been teaching for less than two years.

The Leadership Award celebrates the person or team who leads the school and steers it to success.

Nominees can include a headteacher, principal, leader or head of an academy chain they are responsible for running.

It is not just teaching staff that make a school great, and the Supporting Staff Member of the Year award is dedicated to the caretakers, support assistants, school crossing patrols and other non-teaching staff.

The Community Involvement Award is to recognise work that links schools with the wider community, and can include schools opening up to community groups, offering classes for parents, working to improve the surrounding area or fundraising for a local cause.

Individuals who volunteer their time to make school life better for everyone are celebrated in the Voluntary Contribution Award.

The School Improvement category is to recognise a school that can show it has improved significantly in the past 12 months.

The Governor of the Year award was introduced two years ago as a way of celebrating the work, much of which is behind the scenes, of the hundreds of people across the district who volunteer to be governors.

The Achievement Award was set up to celebrate a school or individual that can demonstrate outstanding achievements for their educational establishment. While the school improvement award recognises a quick turnaround, this category recognise longer term successes, such as an inspiring career or long project the school has been involved in.

Science and Technology recognises the work schools do to keep children at the forefront of the ever- changing world of science and technology.

The Business in Schools Awards recognises partnerships between schools and businesses, charities, arts groups or other organisations.

The deadline for people to send in their nominations is Monday December 18.

A panel of judges will then consider all the nominations in the New Year before coming up with a shortlist of three for each category, which will be announced in the weeks before the awards.

To make a nomination click here to go to our online nomination form.