Challenging Extremism, Thoughtfully

Challenging Extremism Thoughtfully

Schools face growing pressure to respond to Prevent duty requirements, online harms and radicalisation, as well as rising misogyny, racism and political polarisation – even among primary-aged pupils.

Challenging Extremism Thoughtfully (CET) is a programme of training, resources and support, that uses the pedagogy of Philosophy for Children (P4C) to help teachers address extremism, racism, misogyny and other forms of hate through structured, supported and sensitive classroom dialogue.

Challenging Extremism in London

Thoughtful has been selected as one of 17 organisations to receive funding from the Mayor of London’s Shared Endeavour Fund (Call 7), as part of a record £875,000 investment in tackling hate, extremism and radicalisation across the capital.

We are working with up to 30 schools and 60 teachers across London this year. Places are limited and some dates are already full.

Two-day training dates for 2026–27:

• Monday 28 & Tuesday 29 September – a small number of places remaining
• Friday 9 & Friday 16 October – places available
• Thursday 5 & Thursday 12 November – waiting list only, place not guaranteed

If you would like to register your interest, please do so as soon as possible to secure your place.

This project was formerly known as BREE and was conceived and run by former Thoughtful trainer (Richard Gore) has been running for the last 6 rounds of this funding.

Now a revised bespoke Level One course (meaning it comes with accreditation) introduces a philosophical approach to challenging extremism, grounded in Philosophy for Children and Communities (P4C). Designed for upper primary and lower secondary teachers with no prior experience of P4C, the course offers the essential knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to explore themes such as hate, racism, intolerance, extremism and radicalisation through philosophical dialogue and enquiry.

Through expert guidance and practical resources developed over the six years that this project has run, the course provides methods and materials to help you confidently support sensitive engagement with these challenging issues. Successful participants also receive Thoughtful Level One accreditation. 

Impact from 2026

Teachers already knew tackling extremism mattered (4.4/5), but they didn’t know what to do about it (confidence 1.8/5).

This course has proven to build teacher confidence and capability, with teachers’ confidence in addressing extremism increasing to 94% confidence (4.4/5) after training.

They left with practical strategies and resources they could use immediately in the classroom.

What teachers observed in pupils:

• deeper, more critical thinking
• greater openness to different perspectives
• improved discussion and oracy skills
• increased willingness to engage with difficult topics

What schools receive

• Two-day professional development training
• Ready-to-use classroom materials (identity, extremism, terrorism)
• Structured enquiry frameworks for difficult conversations
• In-school support and follow-up sessions
• Ongoing access to expertise and resources

Eligibility

To be eligible to take part in our 2026-27 CET programme, you need to answer yes to all of the following questions:

• I work in a school in a London Borough.
• I have at least one cohort of pupils aged 9-11 that I can deliver the classroom sessions to.
• I believe that my pupils may be vulnerable to being influenced or affected by extreme or harmful views (e.g. racism, prejudice, misogyny).
• A member of the SLT in my school has agreed that I can take part.
• I can commit to participating in every project activity: two days of in-person training in September, October or November; online training in November and in-person support days in your school, running the programme with students for a minimum of 6 weeks (one hour a week); and an evaluation event in March.
• I have not taken part in the BREE project (as it was previously known) in the past 3 years.

If you are a London school and would like to be a part of this funded project and training, you can read more about it and register to apply below.

Challenging Extremism outside of London

We are actively seeking funding to allow is to offer this programme for free to schools outside of London. In the meantime, primary and secondary schools can access this support as part of a paid-for package of training, resources and support. Contact us to discuss your options.