Welcome to the inaugural Premier’s Respect Awards. These awards are to recognise those students who stand out for their commitment to respectful behaviour, inclusiveness and community-mindedness.

The awards represent the first time that all the educational sectors in NSW will come together to celebrate respect in our schools. Each school in NSW is invited to present a Premier’s Respect Award to the student who best exemplifies respectful behaviour.

Once schools have named their Premier's Respect Award winner, they will also be invited to submit an application and place that student up for consideration to take part in the Respect Awards Showcase. An expert panel with representatives from the Association of Independent Schools, Catholic Schools, the Department of Education and the Office of the Advocate for Young People will consider the applications. The panel will then select the 10 students who best represent excellence in respectful behaviour to be presented with their awards by the Premier at an annual showcase.

What should schools be looking for?

Different schools will have different ideas about what respect means for their community. In general students can show respect to their fellow students, to the teachers and staff at the school, and then to the wider community. A few ways they might do this are:

• show respect to a fellow student by helping them academically
• show respect to a fellow student by helping them socially
• show respect to a target of teasing or bullying by stepping in to help
• show respect to a teacher by assisting with an educational activity
• show respect to a teacher by demonstrating they value the teacher's efforts
• show respect to the community by volunteering
• show respect to the community through acts of inclusiveness.

How to assess

Please see our supporting information page to guide school staff on how to undertake this process and how you can assess and nominate a student for this inaugural award.