Philosophy 4 Children
Intent:
At Ashdon Primary School, P4C gives pupils a unique space to develop their speaking, listening and thinking skills. We use our philosophy assemblies to teach oracy which is our ability to communicate effectively using spoken language.
This means having the ability to:
▪ express yourself effectively and with confidence
▪ speak eloquently, articulate ideas and thoughts
▪ influence through talking and to listen/respond to others
▪ have the vocabulary to say what you want to say
▪ structure your thoughts so that they make sense to others
These are all skills that we teach explicitly and practise in P4C. Approaching the National Curriculum in a philosophical way means looking beneath the surface, beyond the facts, to the questions and concepts that interest pupils, young people and teachers. Philosophy calls on imagination and reasoning and puts these capacities to work exploring values, assumptions and vital concepts like justice, truth, knowledge and beauty. A philosophical community of enquiry provides a forum where adults and pupils can search for meaning together. Pupils become reasonable in both senses of the word — they are adept at reasoning and they are open to the reasoning of others. “The unexamined life is not worth living”– Socrates (470-399 BCE).
Implementation:
During assemblies, the class will develop and select their own philosophically rich questions for discussion. Enquiries focus on key concepts, which link to termly topics. The format stresses the importance of speaking in full, considered sentences and of listening respectfully. As the subject matter is not chosen by the teacher but created by the class, speakers have the experience of being an authority on whatever they are speaking about. Being carefully listened to by other pupils and teachers bolsters pupils' confidence. Extended discussion and debate makes pupils more articulate and helps them to think through their own ideas and any associated implications. These benefits are often pronounced in SEND and disadvantaged pupils, who find themselves with an opportunity to talk at length and to be listened to by their peers. One particularly positive outcome is that pupils are given exposure to reasoned debate and cordial disagreement, of which they might not have had extended prior experience. P4C sessions begin with a thought-provoking stimulus. These can be drawn from a curriculum subject or another source. P4C can therefore deepen pupils' thought about what they are studying in class or can be used to address another important issue, such as bullying or self-esteem. Books and stories are used as stimuli and this involves group readings in assemblies. Pupils are encouraged to define interesting concepts and so explore the meaning of words and expand their vocabulary. Examples from recent enquiries include: ‘justice’ ‘equality’ and ‘immortality’.
Impact:
As can be seen from the baseline, the students at Ashdon have high academic progress in reading, writing and mathematics. In P4C pupils articulate their ideas and think through abstract concepts logically. The former supports pupils' oracy and the latter their thinking skills, which bolsters their mathematical reasoning. As a recent efficacy trial by the Education Endowment Fund found, the improvement P4C brought to maths, reading and writing is pronounced in pupils receiving free school meals.