Using the Community of Inquiry approach, sessions begin with inviting participants to welcome the diversity of each others' initial views and to use those to question assumptions, develop opinions with supporting reasons, analyse significant concepts and generally apply the best reasoning and judgement they are capable of.

P4C is often taken up because of its 'effects', in so far as it improves scores in literacy, speaking and listening and maths tests, and improves emotional awareness and thinking abilities. However, many advocates of the approach including James Nottingham and his associates believe P4C is a good thing in itself.  The approach calls on imagination and reasoning and puts these capacities to work exploring values, assumptions and vital concepts such as justice, truth, knowledge and beauty. This more often that not, results in young people becoming reasonable in both senses of the word: they are adept at reasoning and they are open to the reasoning of others.

Read more about P4C on www.philosophyforchildren.co.uk or on www.p4c.com, both of which James Nottingham collaborates on.

Why book P4C with Sustained Success?

1. James is one of the best known and sought-after P4C trainers internationally, and one of just handful of trainers registered to run accredited introductory and advanced courses

2. James is also a founding Director of www.p4c.com, a resource and collaboration site for P4C and communities of inquiry.

3. From 2000 - 2005, James was founding director of RAIS, a regeneration project that helped develop P4C with more than 150 nurseries, schools and colleges, as well as community groups, businesses and families across North East England

4. We have all used P4C as teachers, heads of department and headteachers in primary, secondary and special schools

5. In 1999, James featured in a televised programme (Your Granny or Your Goldfish) about P4C that led to the development of a network of more than 3000 teachers using the approach

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OR... COMPLETE ENQUIRY FORM

9.00 - 10.30 What is P4C and Why Use It?
A look at what characterises P4C based on the findings of national and international research. James will identify the possible gains that can be made with the P4C pedagogy and introduce you to some of the practical strategies of the approach.

10.30 - 10.50 Morning Tea

10.50 – 12.15 What does P4C Look and Feel Like?
This session will focus on the practice of P4C. All delegates will be invited to take part in a Community of Inquiry, the methodology that P4C uses to ask open-ended questions, challenge ideas, pose alternatives, seek clarification, question reasons and demonstrate self-correcting behaviour. The "Inquiry" will be followed by a review to give delegates the opportunity to identify the key characteristics of P4C.

12.15 - 1.00 Lunch

1.00 - 2.30 The Role of the Facilitator
The facilitator encourages students to focus on key concepts within the question, whilst at the same time persisting in finding an answer. He or she shows respect, takes every contribution seriously, doesn’t think s/he knows everything, models self-correction and really loves ideas. This third session will focus on "Handy Hints" to achieve all of this, whilst at the same time keeping an eye on the lesson objectives.

2.30 - 2.45 Afternoon Tea

2.45 – 3.30 Practical and Positive Steps Forward
The day will end with a repertoire of practical strategies, hints and techniques, all of which can be readily applied in any classroom to create a culture of learning within the P4C framework