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Pupil Voice

At Westdene Primary School, we pride ourselves in the amount and variation of opportunities that children have to share their opinions and talents. We are delighted to share the vast range of opportunities for children to have a voice in the way our school is run and to develop leadership skills in our pupils. 

You can also find out more about our 'Philosophy 4 Children' programme at the bottom of this page.

PHILOSOPHY 4 CHILDREN AT WESTDENE

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At Westdene we are delighted to have staff expertise in delivering Philosophy 4 Children. 

What is Philosophy?

The origin of the word philosophy come the greek words philos and sophy, whose literal translation is ‘the love of wisdom’.

It is trying to work out our own best answers to questions that human beings will always be wondering about.

Why teach Philosophy? 

2015 Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Efficacy Trial carried out by Durham University into SAPERE Philosophy 4 Children (P4C) showed that:

  • Teachers and pupils reported that SAPERE P4C had a positive influence on wider outcomes such as pupils’ confidence to speak, listening skills, and self-esteem.
  • SAPERE P4C has a very positive impact on disadvantaged children (those eligible for free school meals). These children made 4 months' additional progress in reading, 3 months' additional progress in maths and 2 months' additional progress in writing in the study. 
  • Key Stage Two pupils taking part in the trial made two additional months' progress in reading and maths.

Our approach so far...

During the spring term 2020 our Philosophy Club met regularly to discuss some big questions that led to lots of deep thinking and rich discussion. 

The club was so successful, we are currently working as a team to review our curriculum to ensure we find more opportunities to weave Philosophy 4 Children principles across our curriculum. We are also exploring how we can utilise Philosophy 4 Children principles in our regular school council meetings. 

Philosophy Day - 14th June 2024

On the 13th June 2024 we held a Philosophy day at school for pupils and parents. We were visited by Tom the Philosophy Man who had this to say after his visit:

"It was an absolute pleasure to work with pupils (and parents!) at Westdene today. The hard work of staff to embed deeper questioning techniques into their lessons, to unlock children's voices and abilities to think "outside the box" was apparent from the very first hour of my day. I know Philosophy at the school will go from strength to strength, not only through special days like today but also weekly sessions that improve the children's reasoning."

Tom Bigglestone, The Philosophy Man

You can see our Tweet about the day here:  https://x.com/WestdenePS/status/1801562966711509174

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