Nominations for the Raising The Bar awards have risen to nearly 700 as the deadline for entries approaches.

The first ever awards will celebrate success and endeavour as a way of sharing best practice and nominations will be accepted up until 1pm on Friday, February 28.

The winners will be announced on Friday, March 27.

One of the hundreds of submitted examples of educational excellence is Roisin Wiseman, who teaches at Wilby Church of England Primary School in Eye. She has been nominated twice for the Teaching Excellence Award.

Mrs Wiseman teaches years five and six and was described by her nominator as being “totally dedicated to making sure each child achieves their full potential... Roisin’s tireless enthusiasm benefits all the children at Wilby.”

In the school’s last SAT results every pupil achieved Level 4 while a much greater than average proportion achieved Levels 5 and 6.

Wilby Primary School is currently rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. Another nomination said: “Mrs Wiseman is one of the most amazing people I have met and an outstanding teacher. She ensures that every child who has the privilege to be taught by her is able to achieve their potential and become the best they can be.”

A nomination has also come in for John Lickman who works at Holton St Peter Community Primary School in the Support Staff of the Year category.

John arrives at work at 5.30am every morning and makes sure the school is spotless before the children arrive. He greets parents as he opens the school gates and remains on site until all the lessons are underway.

With a career as a Ministry of Defence engineer behind him, he once made a 10 foot rocket to help Years One and Two learn about space. His latest project is clearing and bringing back to life the school pond and he has been involving the children in the process. He returns to school at 2pm every day to help with the end of day routine.

“No job is too small for John,” said his nominator. “We are lucky to have John and really hope he stays with us for a very long time.”

Councillor Lisa Chambers, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for education, skills and young people, said: “The volume and quality of nominations we have received have been truly inspirational and will certainly make the judging process a challenging one.

“But there is still time to nominate your education champion and we would urge people to take the time to do so. We’re looking for great examples from across the world of education, be that in schools, nurseries, child care, business and the voluntary sector.”