Critical Thinkers Award
What is the Critical Thinkers Award?
These unique and innovative awards are carefully designed to support young people, aged 25 and under, to develop key skills, such as critical thinking, emotional intelligence and resilience. Students will see a wealth of additional benefits, including better grades, improved mental health and will feel better prepared to take the next step, be that secondary school, university or work. Teachers will also benefit greatly from our specialist training, delivered by one of our experienced educational psychologists and the awards can even help to fulfil certain Ofsted criteria.
Watch this short video to find out more about how the Critical Thinkers Award can help you and your students.
The Award For Your Subject
Geography Teachers
To enable a high standard and ensure these awards can be easily tailored to the classroom, we have been running a pilot award scheme, in collaboration with the Geographical Association and a team of 8 experienced, practicing geography teachers. This means we are very well positioned to support the geography teaching community, helping you to enable your student’s to “think like a geographer.”
History and English Teachers
The Critical Thinkers Award has been designed to help develop deep critical thinking skills, across a range of subjects. We are working with a team of History and English teacher consultants to ensure we offer resources and training tailored to suit your teaching community. If you are interested in hearing more about the awards for your department click the enquire now button below. In addition, to help us better support you, we are inviting 5 secondary English and 5 secondary History teachers from UK and British International Schools to get involved in a 60 minute focus group session. As a thank you gesture, we can offer each delegate a £50 Amazon Voucher. If you are interested, please email us with your name, school, subject and up to 100 words explaining why you would like to be involved.
Other Subject Teachers
The Critical Thinkers Award has been designed to help develop deep critical thinking skills, across all subjects from mathematics, the sciences, RE and philosophy, to name a few. If you believe the development of critical thinking skills will help benefit your students, do get in touch to find out how else we can support you.
5 simple steps to launching the Awards...
CHATTING
Have a chat with our experienced team about what Award best suits you and your students.
BOOKING
Gain approval from your SLT & book onto one of our advertised Award Assessor Training dates.
TRAINING
Receive Award Assessor Training from one of our Educational Psychologists.
CONSULTING
Have a consultation with a CT Moderator to help tailor Awards to your school
LAUNCHING
Launch Awards within your school and kick-start a fantastic opportunity for your students!
Learn a little more about the awards...
The awards are universal, based on sound approaches to teaching and learning. They support successful applications for further study. Completing the award will encourage independent learning, and will help develop young people from all backgrounds. Students can expect to develop their skills in critical thinking, research, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, and demonstrate an awareness of their worldview. They will demonstrate effective communication in a range of situations, showing an ability to convey information and provide some justification for their approach. Learners will create a personal portfolio containing evidence of their experiences.
What’s more, the award can be delivered in many ways and in a wide range of settings. You can map it to your existing activity or use it to start something brand new. Award delivery can happen in curriculum time, or through extra-curricular and enrichment programmes.
In short, young people will finish the award with:
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Life and study skills
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Leadership skills
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Collaborative skills
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Behavioural skills
Further benefit to schools:
In addition to the obvious benefits to young people, the Critical Thinkers Award fulfil certain inspection criteria in Ofsted’s EIF. Inspectors make a judgment on the quality of education evaluating the extent to which:
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The provider’s curriculum is sequenced towards skills for future learning and employment
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Learners are resilient to set backs and take pride in their achievements
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Curriculum extends beyond the academic technical or vocational
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The curriculum and the providers' wider work support learners to develop their character including their resilience, confidence and independence
(The Education Inspection Framework, Ofsted, 2019).