Executive summary
The project
Philosophy for Children (P4C) is an approach to teaching in which students participate in group
dialogues focused on philosophical issues. Dialogues are prompted by a stimulus (for example, a
story or a video) and are based around a concept such as ‘truth’, ‘fairness’ or ‘bullying’. The aim of
P4C is to help children become more willing and able to ask questions, construct arguments, and
engage in reasoned discussion.
The primary goal of this evaluation was to assess whether a year of P4C instruction for pupils in
Years 4 and 5 would lead to higher academic attainment in terms of maths, reading, and writing. The
project also assessed whether P4C instruction had an impact on Cognitive Abilities Test results.
The evaluation ran from January to December 2013. Teachers were trained in P4C by the Society for
the Advancement of Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education (SAPERE). On average,
pupils received one period of P4C per week, although this varied across schools. A total of 48 schools
across a wide range of English geographies participated. While these schools were in many ways
diverse, as a whole they had above-average levels of disadvantaged pupils.
The project was delivered by SAPERE, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation, and
independently evaluated by a team at Durham University.