Early bird tickets now available for the Thoughtful Annual Conference 2026
How could a school with a high proportion of pupils speaking English as a second language hope to make the best of Philosophy for Children (P4C), a pedagogy based on everyone talking to each other, often about the deeper, knottier concepts? There were reservations. But SAPERE Trainer Neil Phillipson explains how the risks themselves were transformed into a new sources of inclusion and community.
Sophie’s early interest in philosophy, thanks to “fizzing” conversations at sixth form, was nearly cut short when their university seminars turned out to be a little flatter. But Philosophy for Children was on the horizon, leading to a resurgent passion and the start of a career in philosophy, facilitation, and fizz!
Steve Williams was the first person in Britain to introduce Philosophy for Children as a curriculum subject in a secondary school. He helped to found SAPERE, and over three decades he has supported an uncountable number of educators into P4C facilitation, as well being involved in P4C-connected research and publishing.
In 1992, Roger Sutcliffe was one of SAPERE’s founding members. He has made a vocation out of promoting and developing Philosophy for Children over the past 30 years, and continues to work as an accredited P4C trainer today.
What happened when a young person who was bullied for being different, started attending an after-school Philosophy for Children club?
In a follow-up to his 2015 World Philosophy Day Guardian article, Andy West considers the impact of philosophy on young people in prison, finding that – while there may be no single cause of sudden transformation – there is an incremental power to finding understanding and formulating explanations.
A former teacher and now Philosophy for Children trainer, Gina Parker Mullarkey considers the impact that P4C had on her parenting style – and her young family.
Andy West is the author of The Life Inside, published earlier this year. The book covers his role as a philosophy teacher to prisoners, and serves as a memoir on a history of incarceration within his own family.
Sign in to access your courses, see event bookings and manage your resources subscription.
Forgotten Password
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Email hello@thoughtful.org.uk and we’ll be happy to help.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.
Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.
