Topsy Page

11 December 2018

Practical examples

P4C makes teachers better teachers!

Topsy Page

11 December 2018

Practical examples

Over the past few months I’ve been asking teachers whether they think P4C has changed them.

Topsy Page

1 November 2018

Tips and techniques

Big Ideas

Topsy Page

1 November 2018

Tips and techniques

Ways to get children to generate philosophical questions from a stimulus.

Topsy Page

30 October 2018

Resources

Concept card grid

Topsy Page

30 October 2018

Resources

Concept card grid - Screenshot.png — Concept card grid

View or Download PDF

More on philosophical concepts for P4C

10 July 2026

Tidy – P4C stimulus

10 July 2026

Is Badger too tidy?

10 July 2026

10 April 2026

What is love?

10 April 2026

Use drawing to support thinking and talk

10 April 2026

Opinion continuum - philosophical exercise (1).jpg

3 October 2025

Opinion continuum – oracy activity

3 October 2025

Get students thinking and talking.

3 October 2025

P4C concept map - Where The Wild Things Are.jpg

11 July 2025

Thinking together about big ideas

11 July 2025

With examples from Where the Wild Things Are

11 July 2025

Concept Collision - Topsy Page - thumbnail.png

27 June 2025

Concept collision – get your students thinking deeply

27 June 2025

Are these examples of adventure, bravery, or both?

27 June 2025

28 February 2025

Sharing snacks – P4C stimulus

28 February 2025

Get your class talking about sharing and saying no

28 February 2025

8 November 2024

What did you find interesting or important about that?

8 November 2024

A valuable P4C facilitation move

8 November 2024

26 July 2024

Should we stop cleaning? P4C stimulus

26 July 2024

My first encounter with a robot cleaner

26 July 2024

24 November 2023

Sticky note concepts

24 November 2023

A tip to ensure you are always ready for P4C sessions

24 November 2023

27 October 2023

Choral speaking in P4C?

27 October 2023

Get everyone listening and engaged with the big ideas and questions

27 October 2023

Philosophy for Young Children - cover.jpg

23 December 2022

Philosophy for Young Children – A Practical Guide

23 December 2022

Packed with example discussion scenarios, this book will help you raise your facilitation game

23 December 2022

11 February 2022

Philosophical Play from Sara Stanley

11 February 2022

Full of practical ideas and lovely examples of children’s words; I recommend this book

11 February 2022

Concept activity - Freshness - Topsy Page - thumbnail.PNG

14 January 2022

Vocabulary, Vocabulary, Vocabulary

14 January 2022

Get students to think and talk about new words in the context of what they are learning

14 January 2022

kindness activity - Topsy Page - thumbnail.png

12 November 2021

Kindness – concept activity

12 November 2021

What does kindness actually mean?

12 November 2021

5 November 2021

Anti-Bullying Week – P4C questions and stimuli

5 November 2021

Help your pupils explore the 2021 theme, One Kind Word

5 November 2021

Concept Sort – Topsy Page – thumbnail.png

2 July 2021

Concept Sort – which are the big ideas?

2 July 2021

Learning to spot concepts in a stimulus

2 July 2021

When+I+Coloured+In+The+World+screengrab.jpg

4 June 2021

When I Coloured in the World – P4C Stimulus

4 June 2021

What colours will you give to the world?

4 June 2021

26 March 2021

Should I take the stairs? Fun P4C stimulus

26 March 2021

If we made exercise more fun, would people be healthier?

26 March 2021

22 January 2021

The Three Robbers – P4C stimulus

22 January 2021

An entertaining short video which will stimulate lots of dialogue

22 January 2021

8 January 2021

Uplifting concepts

8 January 2021

A list of positive ideas including compassion, hope, and celebration - for use in P4C or circle time

8 January 2021

23 October 2020

Traditional tales can get children thinking and talking

23 October 2020

Try using a well-known story such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears as a stimulus for classroom talk or P4C

23 October 2020

17 September 2020

Forthcoming online P4C network meeting

17 September 2020

A professional development opportunity for P4C leads and teachers on Thursday 24th September

17 September 2020

7 August 2020

P4C planning tip – Big ideas

7 August 2020

An enjoyable P4C prep task for the Summer break

7 August 2020

28 February 2020

A double bubble for every subject

28 February 2020

A simple way to help learners structure their talk, thinking and note-taking.

28 February 2020

25 October 2019

Concept Towers

25 October 2019

A way to explore the key concepts in a stimulus and enable children to practice building on others’ ideas.

25 October 2019

5 February 2019

Concept activity - Emotion

5 February 2019

16 January 2019

Thinking map - Double Bubble

16 January 2019

1 November 2018

Big Ideas

1 November 2018

Ways to get children to generate philosophical questions from a stimulus.

1 November 2018

30 October 2018

Concept card grid

30 October 2018

23 February 2017

Can compassion be taught?

23 February 2017

One aspect of P4C which often gets missed is to identify the key concept in a question and then stretch it or explore it more to deepen understanding.

23 February 2017

Topsy Page

27 September 2018

Research

Should primary schools teach philosophy?

Topsy Page

27 September 2018

Research

Research from Durham University suggests…

Topsy Page

10 September 2018

Resources

Concept activity – Compassion

Topsy Page

10 September 2018

Resources

Concept activity – Compassion

View or Download PDF

More free P4C resources

27 June 2025

Concept collision – get your students thinking deeply

27 June 2025

Are these examples of adventure, bravery, or both?

27 June 2025

2 February 2024

Learning to ask philosophical questions

2 February 2024

How to start a question, and think about whether or not it’s philosophical

2 February 2024

8 December 2023

Christmas wonderings from Wonder Ponder

8 December 2023

A free, downloadable, shareable booklet

8 December 2023

16 December 2022

HomeTalk – Gifts

16 December 2022

Seasonal resources from Dialogue Works’ HomeTalk series

16 December 2022

Dialogue Works HomeTalk (Gifts) - cover.png

10 December 2021

Let's talk about… gifts

10 December 2021

Thinking questions for children about gifts, in the latest HomeTalk

10 December 2021

13 August 2021

Thinking Space resources

13 August 2021

Downloadable Philosophy for Children resources

13 August 2021

30 July 2021

Philosopher's Backpack

30 July 2021

A P4C website which includes the fabulous Philosopher’s Backpack

30 July 2021

2 July 2021

Concept Sort – which are the big ideas?

2 July 2021

Learning to spot concepts in a stimulus

2 July 2021

5 February 2021

HomeTalk – free weekly resource for families and teachers

5 February 2021

A high-quality, easy-to-access resource that gets children talking

5 February 2021

8 January 2021

Uplifting concepts

8 January 2021

A list of positive ideas including compassion, hope, and celebration - for use in P4C or circle time

8 January 2021

4 September 2020

Virtual Circle

4 September 2020

A structure to allow all students to participate, even if sitting in a real circle isn’t an option right now.

4 September 2020

24 October 2019

4Cs blank grid

24 October 2019

17 September 2019

P4C Ten Steps planning grid

17 September 2019

15 July 2019

Question Quadrant

15 July 2019

26 June 2019

Useful question stems for P4C

26 June 2019

11 March 2019

Diamond Nine ranking

11 March 2019

5 February 2019

Concept activity - Emotion

5 February 2019

30 October 2018

Concept card grid

30 October 2018

10 September 2018

Concept activity – Compassion

10 September 2018

30 August 2018

P4C stems for facilitators

30 August 2018

Topsy Page

30 August 2018

Resources

P4C stems for facilitators

Topsy Page

30 August 2018

Resources

More free P4C resources

27 June 2025

Concept collision – get your students thinking deeply

27 June 2025

Are these examples of adventure, bravery, or both?

27 June 2025

2 February 2024

Learning to ask philosophical questions

2 February 2024

How to start a question, and think about whether or not it’s philosophical

2 February 2024

8 December 2023

Christmas wonderings from Wonder Ponder

8 December 2023

A free, downloadable, shareable booklet

8 December 2023

16 December 2022

HomeTalk – Gifts

16 December 2022

Seasonal resources from Dialogue Works’ HomeTalk series

16 December 2022

10 December 2021

Let's talk about… gifts

10 December 2021

Thinking questions for children about gifts, in the latest HomeTalk

10 December 2021

13 August 2021

Thinking Space resources

13 August 2021

Downloadable Philosophy for Children resources

13 August 2021

30 July 2021

Philosopher's Backpack

30 July 2021

A P4C website which includes the fabulous Philosopher’s Backpack

30 July 2021

2 July 2021

Concept Sort – which are the big ideas?

2 July 2021

Learning to spot concepts in a stimulus

2 July 2021

5 February 2021

HomeTalk – free weekly resource for families and teachers

5 February 2021

A high-quality, easy-to-access resource that gets children talking

5 February 2021

8 January 2021

Uplifting concepts

8 January 2021

A list of positive ideas including compassion, hope, and celebration - for use in P4C or circle time

8 January 2021

4 September 2020

Virtual Circle

4 September 2020

A structure to allow all students to participate, even if sitting in a real circle isn’t an option right now.

4 September 2020

24 October 2019

4Cs blank grid

24 October 2019

17 September 2019

P4C Ten Steps planning grid

17 September 2019

15 July 2019

Question Quadrant

15 July 2019

26 June 2019

Useful question stems for P4C

26 June 2019

11 March 2019

Diamond Nine ranking

11 March 2019

5 February 2019

Concept activity - Emotion

5 February 2019

30 October 2018

Concept card grid

30 October 2018

10 September 2018

Concept activity – Compassion

10 September 2018

30 August 2018

P4C stems for facilitators

30 August 2018

Topsy Page

20 August 2018

Tips and techniques

The Birthplace of P4C

Topsy Page

20 August 2018

Tips and techniques

This summer I was lucky enough to attend the annual summer seminar organised by the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC) based at Montclair State University, NJ.

Topsy Page

16 May 2018

Tips and techniques

Talk Promise (2)

Topsy Page

16 May 2018

Tips and techniques

I was thrilled to see the newly-developed promise displayed in every classroom on a return visit to one of my 'talk schools'.

Topsy Page

10 April 2018

Practical examples

Active learning

Topsy Page

10 April 2018

Practical examples

Children getting out of their seats to vote for a philosophical question.

Topsy Page

1 March 2018

Practical examples

P4C can motivate children to write

Topsy Page

1 March 2018

Practical examples

I’ve been working with a group of Manchester teachers to discover how to optimise P4C in the teaching and learning of English. It’s been lovely to hear from pupils and teachers about some really positive experiences.

Topsy Page

15 February 2018

Practical examples

Does P4C help you? Pupil voice February 2018

Topsy Page

15 February 2018

Practical examples

Year 4 and Year 6 children discussing the advantages of doing P4C.

Topsy Page

9 January 2018

Tips and techniques, Practical examples

Ideas into your brain...

Topsy Page

9 January 2018

Tips and techniques, Practical examples

What children think of changing talk partners more often.

Topsy Page

23 November 2017

Tips and techniques

Talk Promise

Topsy Page

23 November 2017

Tips and techniques

Schools can benefit from implementing a talk agreement, promise, or pledge.

Topsy Page

11 October 2017

Thoughts, Recommended reading

Who's working harder?

Topsy Page

11 October 2017

Thoughts, Recommended reading

Students should be doing most of the talking.

Topsy Page

20 September 2017

Tips and techniques, Practical examples

Pair talk – your new (old) best friend

Topsy Page

20 September 2017

Tips and techniques, Practical examples

Pair talk / talk partners is an excellent technique (as long as it’s done properly!)

Topsy Page

26 July 2017

Research

New research on talk

Topsy Page

26 July 2017

Research

Encouraging pupils to argue and debate in class can help boost their results in English, Maths and Science, according to research by the Education Endowment Foundation.

Topsy Page

13 June 2017

Practical examples

What do children think of Hands Up?

Topsy Page

13 June 2017

Practical examples

Pupil Voice is an important part of my Talk Audits; here are some recent responses when I asked Key Stage 2 children their opinions about Hands Up…

Topsy Page

30 May 2017

Research

2017 Communication Trust report shows schools must prioritise talk

Topsy Page

30 May 2017

Research

“This report talks about a generation of children and young people growing up in a world where good speech, language and communication skills are increasingly vital …“

Topsy Page

20 April 2017

Practical examples

Year 4 Philosophy question

Topsy Page

20 April 2017

Practical examples

Questions that children come up with during P4C sessions are always fascinating!

Topsy Page

7 April 2017

Research

Clever Classrooms

Topsy Page

7 April 2017

Research

Traditional items of play equipment continue to provide the foundations of high value play. Major impact of natural light, temperature, air quality, and colour on pupils’ learning progress.