Bow School Going For Gold – SAPERE AWARD – P4C

Bow School is delighted to announce that it is to be awarded the SAPERE Silver Award in recognition of its commitment and progress to implementing the Philosophy for Children approach (P4C).

SAPERE is an industry leading charity that supports a national network of teachers, trainers and schools to manage projects that implement P4C. Originating in America, P4C is an educational approach that is centred on philosophical enquiry. It focuses on training teachers to encourage their students to think and reason as a group. Research has shown that this has both cognitive and social benefits for children. Over 25 years, SAPERE has trained more than 27,000 teachers in the practice of P4C.

Bow began the charity’s Going for Gold programme in September 2014 and has made fantastic progress towards accomplishing its goal of fulfilling the Gold Award criteria. The latest update from SAPERE confirmed not only that the school has achieved Silver, but also that it is well on its way to achieving the highest standard.

Students and staff at Bow have embraced the P4C approach and it is now thoroughly embedded into teaching at the school. Everyone involved has reaped the benefits of being a part of the scheme and are excited about how further development will enhance the school’s learning experience.

 Quote from Cath Smith, Executive Head teacher “Since SAPERE first visited Bow we have worked very hard to embed P4C into our everyday learning. I am delighted with how successful it has been. Our teachers all say how much it helps to structure lessons, and I am so proud of the impact it has had on helping to shape our students into well-rounded, thoughtful adults of the future.”

Alison Allsopp, National Training Manager, SAPERE commented, “The way in which Bow School has progressed through the programme provides an excellent example of how a secondary school can work collaboratively with other primary schools within a cluster, and also ensure that the P4C approach is a key part of teaching and learning.”

Celebrating Success – The Bow Way