As schools across the UAE progress through Term 2, the focus remains firmly on learning, enrichment, and student development. This point in the year also offers an opportunity for schools to reflect on how they recognise the skills, values, and behaviours they want to nurture in their pupils.
Increasingly, schools are choosing to create a bespoke award designed specifically for their community. Rather than adopting a pre-made framework, a bespoke award is built around what matters most to each school. Importantly, there is still time this academic year to introduce one.
What Does It Mean to Create a Bespoke Award?
Creating a bespoke award means working in partnership to design a programme that reflects a school’s ethos, priorities, and culture. The award is shaped with the school, not selected from a catalogue.
This may involve recognising areas such as wellbeing, leadership, citizenship, sustainability, creativity, kindness, or life skills. A bespoke award can be designed for a single year group, a phase of the school, or across the whole school, depending on need.
At Edsidera, each bespoke award is developed to be practical, inclusive, and easy to implement, ensuring it fits naturally within existing curriculum and enrichment structures.
Why Term 2 Is a Strong Time to Launch
Term 2 is when students are settled into routines and teachers have a clear understanding of their pupils. This makes it an effective time to introduce a bespoke award that focuses on growth, effort, and positive behaviours.
Schools choosing to create a bespoke award during Term 2 benefit from:
- Time for students to engage meaningfully with the award
- Opportunities to recognise progress before the final term
- Alignment with enrichment, wellbeing, or pastoral initiatives already in place
A bespoke award can run over a short period, across the remainder of the academic year, or as a pilot with a specific year group or house system. This allows schools to introduce recognition in a focused, manageable way while still having real impact.
Planning Ahead for the Next Academic Year
Some schools use Term 2 not only to launch an award, but also to begin shaping a bespoke award for the next academic year. Early planning allows schools to be intentional and strategic.
This approach provides time to:
- Align the award with school improvement and wellbeing priorities
- Embed recognition into enrichment or pastoral frameworks
- Ensure staff clarity and consistency from the start of the year
- Plan a strong and engaging launch for students and families
Creating a bespoke award early does not mean delaying impact. It allows schools to choose the most effective timing for their community.
Designed Around School Life
A key strength of creating a bespoke award is that it is designed around how schools already operate. It does not require extensive additional workload or complex systems.
Well-designed bespoke awards are:
- Flexible in delivery
- Scalable across year groups
- Inclusive of different strengths and learning styles
- Easy to integrate into everyday school practice
The focus remains on meaningful recognition that strengthens student motivation and school culture.
Recognition That Reflects What Matters
In a diverse education landscape like the UAE, schools are increasingly seeking ways to recognise more than academic attainment alone. Creating a bespoke award provides a structured, purposeful way to celebrate the whole child and reinforce shared values. Whether introduced during Term 2 or planned carefully for the next academic year, a bespoke award offers schools a meaningful opportunity to recognise what matters most, while there is still time to make a difference.
Get in Touch
To explore how Edsidera could support your learners, families, and wider school community, we would love to hear from you.