Introducing philosophy in a large secondary school is no mean task. It requires commitment, planning and it takes time. Yet the schools which have chosen to adopt this subject in different forms report many benefits for pupils such as better communication skills, independent thinking and an improvement in behaviour.
Perhaps one of the most striking examples of this is at Park Campus, a key stage three pupil referral unit with about 80 students in Lambeth. Almost all of them are permanently excluded from school and many have difficult home lives too.
Staff believe that engaging in philosophical debate in groups of two or three gives students a framework. Perhaps for the first time in their lives they are focusing on thinking and reasoning.
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