£1.2m philosophy programme to be trialled in 200 schools

A philosophy programme that aims to improve the reading and maths skills of primary school children will be trialled in 200 schools with £1.2 million of funding from the Education Endowment Foundation.

The SAPERE’s Philosophy 4 Children (P4C) sessions include stimuli such as a short video clip or story to prompt structured discussions around topics like truth, knowledge and fairness, with the aim of helping children to become more willing and able to ask questions, construct arguments and engage in reasoned discussion.

Following a smaller trial, which found that P4C had a positive impact on primary school pupils’ maths and reading attainment by two additional months over the course of a year, the new £1.2 million grant will allow the programme to be tested in 200 English primary schools and with 9,000 Year 4 and 5 pupils.

An independent evaluation will then look to find out if the sessions can produce similarly good results on a wider roll out.

Sir Kevan Collins, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “Our earlier trial of Philosophy 4 Children found it had a promising impact on maths and reading results for primary school pupils, especially those from disadvantaged homes. This new trial will allow us to find out if the programme can produce similarly good results when implemented in many different schools.”