Education terms: C

115 terms starting with C, with where each one is used. Choose a term for related terms.

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Cafeteria United States

The room where US students eat lunch. UK: dining hall or canteen.

Cambridge IGCSE International

Cambridge International's international GCSE, graded A* to G (or 9 to 1 in some syllabuses).

Cambridge International (Cambridge International Education) International

Part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment that provides international qualifications such as Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS & A Levels to schools worldwide.

Cambridge International AS & A Level International

Cambridge International's A level qualifications for international schools, graded A* to E.

Cambridge Nationals England

Vocational qualifications from OCR for 14 to 16 year olds, at level 1 and 2.

CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) All four UK nations (details may differ)

NHS services that assess and treat children and young people with mental health difficulties. Wales uses CAMHS too; Scotland uses CAMHS and NI CAMHS.

Candidate number All four UK nations (details may differ)

The four-digit number given to each candidate within a centre for exams.

Capability procedure All four UK nations (details may differ)

A formal process used when a teacher's performance is judged to fall seriously below the expected standard.

Care leaver All four UK nations (details may differ)

A young person who has been in local authority care and has left it, usually at age 16 to 18.

Careers guidance All four UK nations (details may differ)

Advice and information that help pupils make decisions about education, training and work.

Careers leader England

The person responsible for a school's careers programme, which in England should meet the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Carnegie unit United States

The traditional measure of high school credit, based on about 120 hours of class time over a year.

CAS (Creativity, activity, service) International

The IB Diploma core component in which students take part in creative, physical and service activities.

Case manager United States

The staff member, often a special education teacher, responsible for coordinating a student's IEP.

CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) United States

A US organisation known for its framework of five social-emotional learning competencies.

Catchment area All four UK nations (details may differ)

The geographical area from which a school gives priority to applicants in its admissions criteria. US: school attendance zone.

CCE (Child criminal exploitation) All four UK nations (details may differ)

When a child is coerced or manipulated into criminal activity, such as carrying drugs (county lines).

CCEA (Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment) Northern Ireland

The body in Northern Ireland that advises on the curriculum, runs assessment and acts as an exam board and regulator.

CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) International

A six-level scale (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) for describing language ability.

Centers United States

Learning stations in an elementary classroom that small groups rotate through.

Centre number All four UK nations (details may differ)

The five-digit number that identifies a school or college as an approved exam centre.

Centre-assessed grades (CAGs) England

Grades submitted by schools in 2020 when exams were cancelled because of COVID-19.

CEO (MAT) (Chief executive officer) England

The senior executive leader of a multi-academy trust, accountable to the trustees for all the trust's schools.

CertHE (Certificate of Higher Education) England Wales Northern Ireland

A level 4 higher education qualification, equal to the first year of a bachelor's degree.

Chair of governors England Wales Northern Ireland

The governor elected to lead the governing body and work most closely with the headteacher.

Channel England Wales Scotland

A voluntary programme that provides support to people identified as vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.

Charter management organization (CMO) United States

A nonprofit that runs a network of charter schools, similar to a multi-academy trust.

Charter school United States

A publicly funded, tuition-free school that operates independently of the local district under a charter granted by an authorizer, with more freedom in exchange for accountability. Similar in idea to an English academy or free school.

Chartered College of Teaching England

The professional body for teachers in England.

Chartered teacher England

A professional status awarded by the Chartered College of Teaching recognising expert teaching practice.

Child Find United States

The IDEA duty on states and districts to identify, locate and evaluate all children with disabilities who may need special education.

Child in need (CIN) England Wales

Under the Children Act 1989, a child who needs local authority services to achieve a reasonable standard of health or development, or who is disabled.

Child looked after (CLA) All four UK nations (details may differ)

An alternative name for a looked-after child.

Child protection All four UK nations (details may differ) United States

The part of safeguarding that involves action to protect specific children who are suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.

Child protection plan All four UK nations (details may differ)

A plan agreed at a child protection conference setting out how a child will be kept safe from significant harm.

Child-initiated play All four UK nations (details may differ)

Play that children choose and lead themselves, important in early years practice.

Child's plan Scotland

A single plan in Scotland, under the GIRFEC approach, bringing together the support a child needs from different services.

Childminder All four UK nations (details may differ)

A registered person who looks after other people's children in their own home; in England registered with Ofsted.

Children missing education (CME) England

Children of compulsory school age who are not registered at a school and not receiving suitable education otherwise.

Chronic absenteeism United States

Missing 10% or more of school days for any reason; a common US accountability indicator.

CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act) United States

The federal law requiring schools and libraries that receive E-rate discounts to filter harmful online content.

Circle time All four UK nations (details may differ)

A primary school activity in which the class sits in a circle to discuss feelings, share ideas or solve problems.

Citizenship England

A national curriculum subject in England at Key Stages 3 and 4 covering democracy, government, law and active citizenship.

Civics United States

The study of government, citizenship and rights; a graduation requirement in many states.

Class Dojo All four UK nations (details may differ) United States

A popular app for classroom behaviour points and communication with parents.

Class of United States

The graduating year of a group of students, such as the class of 2030.

Class rank United States

A student's position in their graduating class by GPA.

Class size All four UK nations (details may differ) United States International

The number of pupils in a class; in England infant classes (Reception to Year 2) are limited by law to 30 per teacher in most cases.

Classroom management United States All four UK nations (details may differ)

The routines, expectations and strategies teachers use to keep a class focused and orderly.

Clearing All four UK nations (details may differ)

The UCAS process in which applicants without a confirmed university place can find courses with vacancies, mainly after results day.

Clerk to governors England Wales

The person who gives procedural and legal advice to a governing body, prepares papers and takes minutes.

Close reading United States

Careful, repeated reading of a short text to analyse its meaning and structure.

Co-teaching United States All four UK nations (details may differ)

Two teachers, often a general and a special education teacher, sharing teaching of one class.

Cognitive load theory (CLT) All four UK nations (details may differ) United States International

A theory that working memory is limited, so teaching should avoid overloading learners with unnecessary information.

Cohort All four UK nations (details may differ) United States International

A group of pupils who started or are progressing through school together, such as a year group.

Cold calling All four UK nations (details may differ) United States

Asking a pupil to answer a question without them putting their hand up, to keep all pupils thinking.

Collective bargaining United States All four UK nations (details may differ)

Negotiation between a union and an employer, such as a school district, over pay and working conditions.

Collective worship England Wales

The legal requirement in maintained schools in England and Wales to hold a daily act of worship, mainly broadly Christian in character, from which parents can withdraw their child.

College (US) United States

In US usage, any undergraduate institution, including universities; going to college means university study. In the UK a college is often a further education or sixth form college.

College Board United States

The nonprofit that runs the SAT, PSAT and Advanced Placement programmes.

College essay United States

A personal essay submitted with US college applications. UK nearest: personal statement.

Combined science England

A GCSE in England covering biology, chemistry and physics that is worth two GCSEs and graded on a 17-point double scale from 9-9 to 1-1.

Command words All four UK nations (details may differ)

The key instruction words in exam questions, such as describe, explain, evaluate or compare, which show what kind of answer is expected.

Commencement United States

The ceremony at which US college or high school graduates receive their degrees or diplomas.

Common App United States International

An online application used to apply to more than a thousand US colleges with one set of materials.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) United States

Standards for English language arts/literacy and mathematics for K-12, adopted by many states from 2010, some of which later revised or renamed them.

Common exception words England

Words that do not follow the usual phonics rules or that pupils meet before learning the relevant rules, listed in the English national curriculum; sometimes called tricky words.

Community college United States

A public two-year college offering associate degrees, certificates and transfer routes to four-year universities, usually with open admission.

Community eligibility provision (CEP) United States

An option that allows high-poverty schools to serve free meals to all students without individual applications.

Community school England Wales

A maintained school where the local authority employs the staff, owns the land and buildings and sets the admissions rules.

Comparable outcomes England

The approach Ofqual uses to keep results consistent from year to year, so that if a cohort is similar its results should be similar.

Comprehensive school All four UK nations (details may differ)

A state secondary school that admits pupils of all abilities without academic selection.

Compulsory school age All four UK nations (details may differ)

The ages between which a child must receive full-time education. In England and Wales it starts from the term after a child's fifth birthday (Northern Ireland and Scotland start earlier and have their own rules) and runs to the end of the school year in which the child turns 16; the exact leaving date differs by nation.

Computer science All four UK nations (details may differ) United States

The study of computation, algorithms, programming and data; a GCSE and A level subject in England and a growing K-12 subject in US states.

Computing England

The national curriculum subject in England covering computer science, information technology and digital literacy, which replaced ICT in 2014.

Concrete pictorial abstract (CPA) All four UK nations (details may differ) International

A maths teaching sequence that moves from physical objects (concrete) to pictures and diagrams (pictorial) to symbols (abstract).

Condition of funding England

The requirement in England that 16 to 19 students without a grade 4 in GCSE English or maths continue to study these subjects.

Conditional offer All four UK nations (details may differ)

A university offer that depends on the applicant achieving certain grades or meeting other conditions.

Contextual offer All four UK nations (details may differ)

A university offer with lower grade requirements given to applicants whose background suggests they have faced disadvantage.

Contextual safeguarding All four UK nations (details may differ)

An approach that recognises children can face harm in places beyond the family, such as peer groups, neighbourhoods and online, and responds to those contexts.

Continuous provision England

In early years, the resources and areas always available for children to use independently.

Controlled assessment England Wales

An older type of GCSE coursework completed under supervised conditions, largely replaced by NEA in England.

Cooperating teacher United States

The experienced classroom teacher who hosts and mentors a student teacher.

COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) United States

The federal law that limits how online services collect personal information from children under 13.

Core Maths England

Level 3 qualifications in applying maths for students who have passed GCSE maths but are not taking A level maths.

Core subjects England

In the national curriculum in England, English, mathematics and science.

Corporate parent All four UK nations (details may differ)

The collective responsibility of a local authority and its partners to act as a good parent would for children in its care.

County lines All four UK nations (details may differ)

A form of criminal exploitation in which gangs use children and vulnerable people to move and sell drugs across areas, using dedicated phone lines.

Course (UK degree) All four UK nations (details may differ)

In UK higher education, the whole degree programme a student applies to, such as BSc Biology. In the US, a course is a single class.

Coursework All four UK nations (details may differ) United States

Work produced over time as part of a course and assessed towards the final grade.

Cover All four UK nations (details may differ)

Teaching or supervising a class when its usual teacher is absent.

Cover supervisor All four UK nations (details may differ)

A member of support staff who supervises a class during a teacher's short-term absence, using work set by the teacher.

CPD (Continuing professional development) All four UK nations (details may differ) International

Ongoing learning and training that teachers do to improve their practice throughout their careers.

CPS (Child Protective Services) United States

The state or county agency that investigates reports of child abuse and neglect.

CQFW (Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales) Wales

The framework that describes all qualifications and learning in Wales, from entry level to level 8.

Creative Commons (CC) International

A set of free copyright licences, such as CC BY, that let creators allow others to share and adapt their work under certain conditions.

Credit (high school) United States

A unit awarded for passing a high school course, usually one credit for a year-long course; students need a set number to graduate.

Credit (UK) All four UK nations (details may differ)

A unit of qualification size; in the RQF and CQFW one credit is 10 notional hours of learning, and in UK higher education a typical full-time year is 120 credits.

Credit hour United States

A US unit of college credit, usually based on one hour of class a week over a semester; a full-time load is about 12 to 15 credit hours.

Credit recovery United States

Programmes that let students retake failed courses to earn the credits needed to graduate.

Cross-curricular All four UK nations (details may differ) United States

Teaching that links two or more subjects around a theme or skill.

Cross-curricular skills Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, communication, using mathematics and using ICT, assessed through levels of progression.

CSE (Child sexual exploitation) All four UK nations (details may differ)

A form of child sexual abuse in which a child is manipulated or coerced into sexual activity, sometimes in exchange for something they need or want.

CSI (Comprehensive support and improvement) United States

The ESSA category for the lowest-performing schools in a state, which must carry out improvement plans.

CSP (Coordinated support plan) Scotland

A statutory plan in Scotland for children with additional support needs that are complex or multiple and need support from more than one agency.

CTE (Career and technical education) United States

Courses and programmes in US high schools and colleges that prepare students for specific careers, such as health science or manufacturing.

Cultural capital England

The knowledge and experiences that help pupils succeed in society; Ofsted has used the term in describing curriculum aims.

Cum laude United States

Latin honours awarded on graduation for high academic achievement: cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude, in rising order.

Curriculum (US) United States

In the US, usually the instructional materials and plans a district adopts to teach the standards, as distinct from the standards themselves.

Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Scotland

Scotland's national curriculum for ages 3 to 18, organised in curriculum levels and the broad general education followed by the senior phase.

Curriculum for Wales (CfW) Wales

The national curriculum framework in Wales from 2022, for ages 3 to 16, built around four purposes, six Areas of Learning and Experience and progression steps.

Curriculum levels (Scotland) Scotland

The levels in the broad general education: early, first, second, third and fourth, each with experiences and outcomes and benchmarks.

Curriculum map All four UK nations (details may differ) United States

An overview of what is taught when across a year group, key stage or whole school.

Cut-off date All four UK nations (details may differ) United States

The birth date that decides which school year group a child joins, such as 1 September in England and Wales, 1 July in NI, 1 March in Scotland and varying dates by state in the US.

Cyberbullying All four UK nations (details may differ) United States

Bullying carried out using phones, social media, games or other digital technology.

Being checked against official sources. Definitions are written in our own words; always check the official guidance for your country.

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