Philosophy4Children

Home

Philosophy for Children (enquiry based learning) offers a way to open up children’s learning through enquiry and the exploration of ideas. Children learn that their ideas have value, and that the ideas of other children have value too. Through Philosophy for Children they realise that they don’t always have to be right, but they gain the confidence to ask questions and learn through discussion.

More on what Philosophy for Children can offer:

Philosophy for Children in the classroom

We offer practical experience and help in running Philosophy for Children sessions in the classroom, including:

Introductory and advanced training: We introduce the principles and methodology, and outline the benefits of running Philosophy for Children in schools.
One-day conferences: We are willing to lead and facilitate conferences for networks of schools
Demonstration sessions in the classroom: We will attend your school and run a demonstration Philosophy for Children session in the classroom.

If you have any questions, or would like to contact us about any aspect of Philosophy for Children in the classroom, please e-mail info@philosophy4children.co.uk. For more information about us, please see the About us section of the site below.

Pandemic Pack

Everything has its upside.

During this pandemic Barbara and I have been working on our training pack. Nothing compares with going into schools and working with real people, but during this enforced interval, planning and thinking together to expand the pack has been an exciting challenge for us.

The pack is full of lots of useful ideas and tips. There are links to challenging and interesting clips from YouTube as well as suggestions from the world of art, and stories that you can use in the classroom.

It will take you step by step through the method we use in teaching a philosophical enquiry, as well as giving you background into the history of our work in schools.

Watch this space for its arrival!

Dot Lenton

Dot has been involved with Philosophy for Children (P4C) for many years, working with children from inner-city primary schools as well as rural schools. She was head teacher in a small rural school, where she introduced P4C as a result of seeing the need for children to think for themselves. Her experience extends to working with teachers, governors and other adults. She was a consultant for the Primary Strategy for Norfolk Advisory Service. She is presently an inspector for church schools and a Diocesan School Support Officer.

Barbara Vidion

Barbara came to teaching after previously working with vulnerable groups, including psychiatric patients and social service clients. Her interest in P4C started in 1998 when working as a teacher with Dot, and became the basis for all her teaching. In addition to training teachers in using Philosophy for Children, she teaches yoga in Devon.

Working together

As a team, Dot and Barbara developed a philosophical basis for the whole school life. They became involved in action research in the classroom as part of Thinking Schools, Thinking Children, instigated by Norfolk County Advisory Service. They used results of the research with the National Small Schools Conference and led teachers from schools from around the UK in practical sessions. They continue to work with schools throughout the country and in Europe, providing training for staff and demonstration lessons with children. Dot and Barbara have recently had articles published in Primary Teacher Update.

Elsewhere