Philosophy with Children 2026

Philosophy with Children is coming to The Sir Duncan Rice Library on Wednesday 10 February 2027. It's a one-day course run by the University of Aberdeen, and it's aimed at primary and secondary teachers. The whole thing takes place on the 7th floor in Meeting Room 1, just off Bedford Road.

If you've never come across it, Philosophy with Children (or Philosophy for Children) is a way of working with kids that's more about facilitating than driving. The idea is that when you use it creatively and in collaboration with the children, it helps them make connections and think critically, solve problems and learn in a constructive way, and take ownership of their own learning. For the teacher, it's a shift in role: you're there to facilitate the process rather than lead it. The course trains you to run group discussions on philosophical topics—known as Philosophical Inquiry—as a way of developing the skills that sit at the core of the Curriculum for Excellence.

There's a fair bit of research behind it, too. Pupils who engage in this kind of collaborative discussion tend to come out of it with more self-confidence, better numeracy and literacy, and stronger creative and critical thinking. It also helps them learn to respect alternative viewpoints and improves their social behaviour. So, it's not just about the philosophy itself, but about the skills they pick up along the way.

The venue is The Sir Duncan Rice Library, which was designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen at a cost of £57 million and formally opened by HM The Queen in September 2012. The course costs £150, which includes refreshments, lunch and course notes, and you'll get a CPD Certificate for 4.5 hours of CPD. It's on the 7th floor in Meeting Room 1, just off Bedford Road.