Embedded Files
Our mission: to help young people question what they read, weigh up evidence and reach their own conclusions. We teach young people how to think, not what to think.
How we put our mission into practice
Ready-to-Use Lesson Resources
Classroom-ready lesson materials that reduce planning burden.
Teacher Training
Flexible staff CPD sessions delivered by us.
Ongoing Partnership
We work with schools to understand context and tailor to their needs.
Support Our Work
Help young people see through the noise. Your donation brings critical thinking to more classrooms.
CERL Framework™
CERL™ is a simple framework for helping students think more clearly, speak more carefully, and evaluate ideas more rigorously. It gives teachers and students a shared structure for discussion, analysis, and reasoning across subjects.
Why This Matters in Schools
Schools have a new challenge to respond to. Pupils are encountering a complex information environment driven by algorithms, AI-generated disninformation, misleading claims, and emotionally-charged content. Teachers are seeing the results of this in the classroom and need practical ways respond to controversial claims and develop the critical thinking skills of pupils without turning discussions into arguments.
Common Understanding exists to support that work. We help schools by empowering teachers and students to have better conversations and ask better questions about the information they encounter.
How the Pilot Partnership Works
Staff CPD and Planning
We introduce the CERL™ framework, explain how it supports teaching and learning, and help staff see how it can be used confidently in real classrooms.
Ready-to-use Lessons
Schools receive complete lessons, so the framework is introduced clearly and with minimal workload for staff.
Ongoing Support and Feedback
We stay involved, gather feedback, and ensure it becomes a sustainable part of classroom practice.
A Trusted, Teacher-Friendly Approach
Our approach is designed to help teachers handle difficult, controversial, or contested topics with greater confidence. CERL™ supports clarity, neutrality, and structured discussion, helping teachers focus on the quality of reasoning.
This makes it a practical tool for strengthening oracy, supporting safeguarding, and building more thoughtful classroom discussion across the school.
Safe.
Safeguarding students from misinformation and radicalisation.
Neutral.
Meeting statutory impartiality duties under the Education Act 1996.
Rigorous.
Improving critical thinking skills and media literacy through a structured framework.
About Us
The Common Understanding Trust is a UK educational charity (registered charity no. 1218462) focused on teaching the mechanics of thinking well. We work with schools to help students analyse claims, weigh evidence, explain reasoning, and recognise limits, both inside and outside the classroom.
Become a Founding Partner School
We are currently inviting UK schools to join our fully funded programme. If your school is looking for a practical, low-workload way to strengthen critical thinking, oracy, and media literacy, we would be glad to speak with you.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse