Why “Thanking Teachers” Matters at Wickersley Partnership Trust 20 May 2026

At Wickersley Partnership Trust, we treat Thank A Teacher Day as more than a campaign date in the calendar. It’s an opportunity for us to celebrate the people who make a difference to the lives of our students every single day.

Across our 13 schools, we use the campaign to encourage students, families and colleagues to send digital postcards with heartfelt and personal messages to our teaching and support staff who go above and beyond within our Trust.

The response from staff when they receive messages like these is always moving. Whether it is a teacher hearing that they helped a student gain confidence, a teaching assistant being recognised for their kindness or those being appreciated for always wearing a smile.

This campaign also fits closely with our wider reward and recognition strategy across Wickersley Partnership Trust. Alongside initiatives such as our WPT Staff Awards and Employee of the Half Term, Thank A Teacher Day reinforces the importance of celebrating those who make our schools such a great place to learn and work.

We also encourage colleagues to recognise one another through a Thank a Teacher Day competition, where staff can nominate each other for Staff Awards and earn points through our dedicated reward and recognition platform. Those points can then be turned into retail, restaurant and travel vouchers. It’s another way of strengthening a culture where appreciation and recognition are part of everyday life – Thank A Teacher Day plays a big part in this.

Those colleagues who do receive a WPT Staff Award are also entered into the Pearson National Teaching Awards, where appropriate. On Thank A Teacher Day, we proudly celebrate all those who have been nominated – through staff briefings, internal comms, social media and sometimes student assemblies – recognising the enormous contribution every role makes across our schools and central team.

At a time when the education sector continues to face challenges, gratitude matters. A simple thank you can boost morale, show staff that their work is valued and remind them why they chose a career in education.

We are proud to support Thank a Teacher Day and would encourage as many schools, Trusts, families and communities as possible to get involved. Sometimes the smallest messages really do have the biggest impact.