Philosophy for Children (P4C) – Primary Resource Pack

Bring rich, structured philosophical discussion into your primary classroom with this ready-to-use Philosophy for Children (P4C) resource pack. Designed to develop critical thinking and collaborative reasoning skills, this pack gives teachers everything they need to facilitate meaningful enquiry-based dialogue with pupils at KS1 and KS2.

P4C is an evidence-informed approach that encourages children to think carefully, listen actively, and engage respectfully with big ideas and open-ended questions.

What’s Included
A 10 page PDF containing the following:

1. P4C Sentence Starters – A structured reference sheet organising dialogue prompts into four thinking categories: Caring, Collaborative, Creative, and Critical.
2. P4C Discussion Rules – A clear, pupil-friendly set of ten ground rules for philosophical enquiry, covering active listening, respectful disagreement, turn-taking, and the use of “I” statements.
3. Primary Philosophy Question Cards – A set of 16 discussion question cards organised across four philosophical themes
4. Primary Philosophy Visual Prompts – A collection of five thought-provoking photographic and illustrated images designed to spark philosophical discussion without the need for text.

How to Use
Use the sentence starters and discussion rules together at the start of the year to establish your P4C community of enquiry, then introduce the question cards and visual prompts as stimuli for individual sessions. The question cards can be selected by the teacher to match a current theme or PSHE topic, or offered to pupils as a choice to encourage ownership of the enquiry. Visual prompts work especially well as a low-barrier entry point for KS1 classes or mixed-ability groups. Components can be used individually as standalone lesson starters or combined to run a complete P4C session.

Grade Levels: KS1 and KS2

File Format: PDF (printable and projectable)

Note: This is a digital download only.