Twitter @tcdskent

04/07/25

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25/06/25

From 02/07/2025, if your child receives income related free school meals, you can to book your child’s place on the HAF summer programme with Inclusive Sport. They advise to book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Find out more here: https://t.co/C9mUzPthiy

19/06/25

Year 7 pupils raised a whopping total of £349.19 from their spring fair this year. The year group planned the whole in school event, with a little guidance from their Tutors. The money raised will go to our chosen school charity, Community Kindness Thanet.#cdsy7 pic.twitter.com/r59eSV5YuG

12/06/25

We are extremely grateful to the Rotary Club of Thanet for their recent donation of £2000 to our STEM Club. The money will be used towards 4 new SPIKE kits and 6 expansion packs which will allow the Club to cater to a larger audience and begin outreach to local schools.#cdsSTEM pic.twitter.com/lOPe12HKA3

11/06/25

KS4 Life Cooking Skills started this term in style! Pupils were taught how to make mocktails with talented Thea Barret from Thorley Taverns, at the helm. Pupils learnt how to “muddle, blend, shake and layer” and it was so much fun!#cdshospitality pic.twitter.com/gxMWEan6gT

09/06/25

Y9 Technologists were lucky enough to take part in a STEM Challenge Day at the University of Greenwich in Medway. Working in pairs with other schools, they were set challenges in robotics, E-fit technology, electric cars and medical diagnosis. pic.twitter.com/QA95C8xLpX

23/05/25

A big thank you to Rotary Club of Thanet for hosting our STEM Club leader, allowing him to present to the Club the ‘Disaster Relief Robot’ that pupils have designed, and programmed, in their after-school STEM Club. pic.twitter.com/Nxd7zvPh77

21/05/25

Bounce Forward, supported by the Harry Kane Foundation, are running a free online parent course focused on building resilience in young people and supporting parents in raising resilient young people https://t.co/yiV0EJTGQh pic.twitter.com/mlgkbl8OMV

20/05/25

A Big Shout Out, and thank you, to Dan Cooper Garden in Broadstairs, who has donated lots of items to our Gardening Club. Our green fingered gardeners were out in the sunshine last week planting and tidying the garden! pic.twitter.com/2a7mZhPi8u

15/05/25

As part of last week’s VE day celebrations, pupils created artwork to be a part of the exhibit organised by Broadstairs and St Peter’s Town Council, at Broadstairs Bandstand. We hope you had the chance to see some of the work there! Here’s a sample of our budding artists' work. pic.twitter.com/1CCpE8s7wa

15/05/25

Our last Cooking Life Skills session with Noi Silk had our budding chefs making Prawn Tom Yum (hot and sour) soup, using some of the biggest king prawns we have ever seen!#cdshospitality pic.twitter.com/EHPkRh92vM

14/05/25

Building community is really important in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people. Please see the poster for some helpful tips from the National College for parents. pic.twitter.com/8K2dufuXw3

13/05/25

We have 32 entries in the Thanet Schools Artists Festival 2025, presented by Margate Rotary Club. The exhibition of all entries across Thanet will be on display in Sainsbury’s at Westwood Cross between 12th and 18th May. The award ceremony will take place on 17th May at 12pm. pic.twitter.com/vBSJLc9SAr

13/05/25

Year 7 got fully involved in a an immersive lifesaving experience! The ‘ Community Lifesavers’ visited CDS, where they communicated the importance of turning ‘bystanders into lifesavers’. They demonstrated how to administer CPR and how to use the defibrillator/AED. pic.twitter.com/PKxlb3O3sy

13/05/25

The last lesson for many Hospitality & Catering pupils was one to remember. After a 3 year journey we thought we would treat them to a practical lesson they wouldn't forget - Chocolate Pizza! Good luck to all our Year 11s as they take their exams and complete their time with us. pic.twitter.com/rAcT86KPNK

01/05/25

Tuesday was International Dance Day and our Matilda Jr cast enjoyed dancing and performing during their rehearsal. Here’s a sneak peek into the cast rehearsing ‘The School Song’ and spelling the alphabet out with their bodies.#cdscapa pic.twitter.com/8IC28GWkWp

15/04/25

One of our uniform suppliers, Monkhouse, is currently holding a 60% sale on CDS uniform items when you shop online. Grab yourself a bargain, while the offer lasts. pic.twitter.com/ssQB12ZHhu

06/03/25

Y11 HSC & CD pupils enjoyed a trip to CCCU Health and Social Care Simulation Suite. They engaged in lots of activities linked to future careers in the NHS and Social Care, including correct handwashing and CPR! An inspiring glimpse into University life!#cdschsc pic.twitter.com/RatINMFH1F

04/03/25

KS4 Cooking Skills Club embraced the season by making pancakes to celebrate Pancake Day. Enhanced with lemon, chocolate, strawberries, syrup and banana, we are pretty sure not many made it home!#cdshospitality pic.twitter.com/jixKzHpz1d

03/03/25

Today marks the start of National Careers Week. The National Careers Week website has created a Virtual Careers Fayre where pupils get the opportunity to explore careers in a range of professions. The link to the website is below:https://t.co/URx6RoIyJP#cdscareers

14/02/25

Always ready to celebrate a day in the calendar, our ladies at Independent Catering, again, pulled out all the stops! Look at these wonderful cakes and biscuits, all made and iced with love for a special day – Happy Valentines everyone and have a great half term break! pic.twitter.com/udqs44vby4

14/02/25

Some lucky pupils across Years 8 to 10 had the pleasure of attending a performance of ‘Matilda’ at the Cambridge Theatre, in London. Pupils were far from “Revolting Children”, and were ecstatic in their praise for the production.#cdsdrama pic.twitter.com/TNLRfQflrf

13/02/25

For the final week of this term’s KS4 Cooking Club, pupils literally smashed it! Each made their own version of a smash burger, where the ground beef is smashed down in the pan as it cooks at a high heat to create a charred finish which is both tender and flavoursome.#cdsfood pic.twitter.com/9WZFBnXDi1

03/02/25

This week is Children’s Mental Health Week, organised by Place2Be. The theme is “Know yourself, grow yourself” and this week, we will be discussing ways that pupils can look after their wellbeing develop their understanding of their own personal journey through Character. pic.twitter.com/WWWPaBt7Aw

31/01/25

Say “hello” to our phone holder, wooden robots proudly created by our Year 7 and 8 pupils who are just coming to the end of their 3 term rotation in Design Technology. Aren’t they quirky! Very colourful, and you would never forget where you put your phone!#cdsDT pic.twitter.com/nWAYaUF77L

Breadth Thinking Tools

CoRT Thinking Lessons have been taught in schools since the mid 1970s. They have since become the most widely used school materials for the direct teaching of thinking as a basic skill worldwide.

All of this experience has contributed to developing CoRT Thinking Lessons that:

  1. Are practical and hands-on in nature.
  2. Can be taught as a separate subject–thinking skills–or embedded in existing curriculum to strengthen student learning and develop independent thinkers.
  3. Are focused on equipping students to become effective, open-minded thinkers–critical, creative, constructive, and comprehensive.
  4. Address the increasing interest and recognition for the need to teach thinking as a basic skill along with reading, writing, and mathematics; the traditional basics.
  5. Can be used in a wide variety of situations from schools in disadvantaged areas to elite schools to students being home schooled.
  6. Appeal to a wide range of ages (6-adult) and abilities (IQs of 75-140).

Breadth Thinking Tools 1

Think of a person setting out to learn to be a carpenter. Each carpenter's tool is designed to carry out a specific function. The carpenter learns when and how to use each of the tools one-by-one. A lot of practice is required to become a skilled carpenter. Learning to become a skilled thinker is the same approach: to make the basic operations of thinking second nature so that they are carried out automatically, smoothly, and without fuss or effort.


P4C – is short for Philosophy for Children.

Children are taught how to create their own philosophical questions. They then choose one question that is the focus of a philosophical enquiry, or dialogue.  For example the question might be 'is it ever ok to steal? 

The teacher, as facilitator, supports the children in their thinking, reasoning and questioning, as well as the way the children speak and listen to each other in the dialogue.  After the enquiry the children and facilitator reflect on the quality of the thinking, reasoning and participation, and suggest how they could improve; either as individuals or as a group (community).

P4C is intended to be a regular activity so that the children develop their skills and understanding over time.  The role of the facilitator is crucial to ensuring quality dialogue and progress, as well as integration with the curriculum.

It is well documented that P4C has an impact on children's cognitive, social and emotional development. P4C is about getting children to think and communicate well; to think better for themselves.

P4C is a thorough pedagogy with considerable academic pedigree. Professor Matthew Lipman, frustrated by his students’ lack of engagement with learning and thinking, was influenced by educationalists and philosophers such as Vygotsky, Piaget, Dewey as well as the tradition of Socratic dialogue.

 

If we expect pupils to engage in more creative and stimulating thought process, we, as teachers must encourage them by asking higher level questions.

 

Linking higher order Questioning with higher order Thinking.

  • Developed initially in 1050's by Benjamin Bloom, readapted and significantly improved by Lorin Anderson in 1990's.
  • Hierarchy of 6 developmental stages of thinking which become increasingly complex and demanding.
  • The levels of thinking can be applied to developing questioning across all levels of schooling and in areas of learning.

Breadth Thinking Tools 2

Deeper questioning and anticipated deeper response is developed from top left to bottom right.

Get pupils to come up with their own questions by choosing a word from the left-most column followed by a word from the top row.

Eg.

What Is… the time / the name of… etc

When Will… the reaction stop if I use X grams of Y?

How Might… we use photosynthesis to overcome the impact of burning fossil fuels?