Make Reasoning Skills Compulsory in Schools

We petition the Government to give a formal place to Philosophy at all levels of education, not just at University and postgraduate level, so that all young people in the UK can benefit from it at all stages in their educational journey. To so do, we call for:

-- The recruitment, training and placement of specialist Philosophy teachers (i.e. holders of at least a first degree in the subject, on the model of The Philosophy Shop or Teach First to help graduates without PGCEs etc be deployed in classrooms) in the most challenged primary and secondary schools throughout the UK

-- Increase the number of new Philosophy graduates and defend all funding for this subject across universities

-- The long-term imperative must be to recruit more specialist Philosophy teachers and to increase the number of Philosophy graduates. However, with an average of only around 2,000 UK Philosophy graduates each year, in the short to medium term it will be necessary to train existing and prospective teachers to teach some elements of the subject. Therefore we also call for the introduction of a new specialist teacher training diploma for qualifying teachers and for existing teachers that provides the subject knowledge and pedagogy skills needed to teach elements of Philosophy effectively, a move that could support learning in other subject areas

It is our opinion that this will make sure children from all backgrounds get the advantages Philosophy at a young age can bring in terms of intellectual development.