skip to main content
Accessibility
help

Success Looks Different Awards

In recognition of how schools support and celebrate their pupils with additional support needs.

The Success Looks Different Awards are a chance for schools and early learning centres to celebrate how they are helping children with additional support needs to feel included, supported and celebrated. Launched in 2022, they aim to encourage schools to look beyond exam results and consider success as more than just attainment levels.

Created by the Inclusion Ambassadors, and managed by Children in Scotland, the Success Looks Different Awards support the Scottish Government’s commitment to recognise and appreciate success for pupils with additional support needs, and the forms this takes, as outlined in their Additional Support for Learning Action Plan.

2024-25 Awards

This year, the awards look a little different. The Inclusion Ambassadors reflected on previous years’ awards and decided it was important to provide more opportunities to hear directly from children and young people.

To help achieve this, we have developed an engagement pack and application guide. We want to hear from children and young people, alongside insights provided by the adults supporting their learning.

Categories

The Success Looks Different Awards are open to education settings in four categories:

  • Early learning and childcare / Nursery
  • Primary school
  • Secondary school
  • Special school

Eligibility

The awards are open to all publicly funded schools, including secondary, primary and special schools. Local authority nurseries and partner nurseries are eligible for the early years category.

Entry to the awards is completely free.

Judging

All entries are judged by a panel, based on criteria set by the Inclusion Ambassadors. Once a shortlist has been determined, the Inclusion Ambassadors vote for their winner from the anonymised short list.

Shortlisting is decided using success criteria identified by the Inclusion Ambassadors. These include:

  • Evidence of celebrating individual successes and positive relationships
  • Evidence of creativity
  • Evidence of sharing success with the wider community
  • Evidence of respecting and promoting children's rights
  • Recognition through awards or certificates.

Details of the 2023 Winners and Runners-Up can be found here.

How to enter

Entries for the Success Looks Different Awards 2024/25 closed at 5pm on Friday 20th December.

If you have any questions relating to the awards please contact us at: successlooksdifferent@childreninscotland.org.uk

Click here to return to the main Inclusion Ambassadors page

Engagement Pack & Application Guide

Information and guidance on how to submit your application for this year's awards.

Click here to download

Watch our information webinar

David and Beth talk through the application process for the Success Looks Different Awards 2024/25.

Click here to watch

Success Looks Different 2023

Find out more about the winners and runners-up from Year 2 of the Success Looks Different Awards.

Click here to find out more

Our key principles for inclusive practice

Comment: Winners Alva Academy reflect on their approach for Tes Scotland

Click here to read

More than Just ABC

Comment: Writing in TFN, Lucy Johnson reflects on the awards and our first ever winners

Click here to read

Case studies

Sharing examples from across our 2022 entries, covering primary, secondary and special schools settings.

Click here to download