What is Delphi Philosophy?

 

Delphi Philosophy is an approach to teaching philosophy to children through use of specially written stories.  The stories involve asking the reader philosophical questions, inviting discussion and skill development in listening, questioning, reasoning and explaining.

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​​How does Delphi Philosophy compare to other forms of philosophy for children?

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It has much in common but there also some key differences – including the bespoke story and underlying skill development framework.  Discover more here.

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Can I use the resources just as a story?

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​Yes.  The schemes of work are entirely optional and much of the benefit can be gained by simply reading the story to the class and discussing the questions.  All our stories include a Quick Start guide to get going without any fuss or need for a huge amount of training.  However, by using the scheme of work and accompanying Teacher’s Guide you will likely achieve a greater impact on children’s learning skills.

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​Do I need to know about philosophy to use Delphi resources?

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​No.  Everything you need to know is included in the story.  A bit of background knowledge wouldn’t hurt but is by no means essential.

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Will this be a good introduction to philosophy to children?

 

Yes.  Delphi the Philosopher, and Delphi the Dreamer for older children, was put together to be an ideal entry point, both for children and teachers.

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Will Delphi Philosophy suit children with SEN or additional needs?

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Yes.  The schemes are easy to access, and we have taught philosophy sessions to children with a wide variety of needs, including in SEN support classes.  All that is required is a good enough standard of English to listen to the story and share opinions.  More guidance on this can be found in the Teacher’s Guide which is included in the resources.

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Is Delphi Philosophy appropriate for children who have been taught philosophy before?

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​Yes.  Although the early chapters in Delphi the Philosopher might recap on some familiar skills and content, the questions are big enough to challenge any pupil.

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What age group are these materials for?

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​​Delphi the Philosopher was put together for 7-11 year olds (KS2) and Delphi the Dreamer was put together for 9-13 year olds (upper KS2 and lower KS3), but would likely work well with slightly older ages too.  Please contact us if you’d like to trial the resources with other age groups – we’d be interested to see how well it works!

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Can Delphi the Philosopher be read independently by children?

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Yes.  The Home Versions of the books would suit independently reading children from (depending on ability) around the age of 9 upwards.

 

How long does the scheme of work last?

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​​The schemes can be taught in around 10-13 lessons, depending on the amount of activities completed, so is ideal to complete in a term at one session a week.  The sessions can be flexible depending on how much time is available.  Completing the full scheme of work and all activities will require lessons of around an hour, depending on the pace of storytelling and length of discussions.

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How long are the stories?

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​​Each chapter is roughly around 3,000-3,500 words (though some are shorter, such as the Prologue and The River).  Obviously, the speed of the reader dictates, but we’ve found that if read at a good pace and discussions are kept focused, each chapter should take a little over half an hour to cover, and so can potentially be covered in a week of class story time slots. 

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How do I know if I’m teaching it right?

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​The Teacher’s Guide contains extensive guidance on best practice and how to use the Skills Progression framework to assess progress in your children.

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Is it necessary to cover every chapter?

 

​No!  All Delphi stories can be read and used individually as well as part of a longer narrative.  You can download individual enquiries from our Enquiry Store.  This is ideal for established philosophy classes looking for new enquiries or resources.

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How do I download your resources?

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​​​See the process for downloading our resources here.

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During testing, we have encountered an issue with opening the links in the e-mail when viewed in Windows Mail or Outlook, due to an error in these programs' safelink​​​ processes.  If you encounter an error message when clicking the 'Download' button, you can either right click and 'Save target as' or access your e-mail via a web browser to to download your file.  Please contact us if you have any problems downloading your files and we will make sure you receive them.

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What is your refund policy?

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Please see our refund policy as part of our Terms and Conditions here.

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What format are the materials in?

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​​All resources are in .pdf or read-only Powerpoint format and should be compatible with any computer.  A .pdf reader such as Adobe may be required, as well as Powerpoint to open the slideshows.

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Do I have to print off all the resources?

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​No.  If you are looking to keep printing costs down, it is recommended you download the .pdf files to a tablet and read it from there.  Although there isn’t a great deal of printing (as only one copy of the text is required and the slideshows display most important information to the children), it is possible to use the scheme with no printing at all.

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​Can I share the resources?

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​When you purchase Delphi Philosophy resources, that entitles you to use it in your educational setting and the resources can be shared amongst staff internally for use in multiple classrooms.  However, resources are copyrighted and cannot be shared externally.  All resources are in read-only format and any attempt to copy or edit them will be deemed a breach of copyright.  See our Terms and Conditions.

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​Can I buy a hard copy of the resources?

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​Not yet.  We’re intending Delphi to be a mainly electronic resource, but we may look into this one day if lots of people ask for it!

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Why is your website not displaying properly?

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This website is best viewed in Microsoft Edge, Safari or Google Chrome.  Use of older browsers may cause the site not to display properly.

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What data do you keep on your site?

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​See our Privacy Policy.

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Can I use your text or pictures?

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​Please contact us and ask.  All Delphi materials are copyright protected.  Do not use or copy any Delphi Philosophy resources, text or images without direct permission.  The site prevents users from right clicking and saving pictures, but please also do not copy or save any images or content by any other means.  See our Terms and Conditions.

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Are you able to deliver any training?

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​This may be possible.  Please contact us.

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Will there be more Delphi stories and resources?

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​Yes.  This is just the start of Delphi’s adventures.  Sign up to the newsletter for all the latest developments!