We’re at the end of our busiest ever year. Apologies for neglecting the bulletin in recent weeks, there just haven’t been enough days for the hours with our in-school work coming in thick and fast.
If you’re looking for something to do as an end-of-term treat to use your last lessons productively and with joy, take a look at www.debateplanet.co.uk which we’ve been using for recent competition sessions funded by Essex County Council. Staging a competition between classes gives more of a sense of occasion. Don’t feel you need to declare a winner – we haven’t been and nobody seems to mind!
Warm-up
Start with Yes… but… and afterwards emphasise that the skills of listening to each other’s ideas and challenging them are both important for debating.
Choose A Motion
Go to www.debateplanet.co.uk and click Motion Explorer. We recommend sticking to “Light” the first time you use the site, and you’ll see a toggle top left which you should set to “Launch Mode” for primary to simplify the language. Then have a series of children choose the theme, category, sub-category and so on until you get to a list of motions.
Rehearse in Threes
Then choose one of them and split the children into threes with one For, one Against and one Fence. The Fence’s job is to be in the middle, coming up with questions and challenges for both sides and making points either way.
Have them stand in threes, taking turns to make points and respond to each other. Doesn’t really matter what order they go in.
Split Into Sides
Now have all the “Fors” stand on one side of the room, the “Againsts” on the opposite side and the “Fences” at the back of the room. Hear perhaps seven of eight contributions from the For side, then the same from the against, and then from the fence, particularly inviting questions.
After that, invite them to think of responses and challenges to what they have heard – what can they say to disagree with the points the other sides were making? Go round again.
Final Slogans
A nice way to round off the mildly competitive bit is to invite them to put their killer argument in ten words or fewer. Give them some time to chat in pairs/threes then hear some from each side.
Swap Sides
Now rotate round, so that Fences becomes Fors, Fors, Againsts, and Againsts, Fences. What arguments would they make now? Again, pairs/threes before whole class talk.
Where Do You Stand?
Lastly, dissolve the sides by asking everyone to walk around the room randomly until you say freeze. When they freeze, tell them they’re no longer on one side or the other, they’re back to being themselves. After everything they’ve heard, where do they stand now? Get them to stand to show what their own real belief is and share what was the clinching argument for them.
What’s On in The Philosoverse?
Jason has been with Year 8s from Sutton Grammar for the Outdoor Challenge trip to Wales which he’s been running since 2006 through his other company Outspark, and with Burnt Mill Academy and St John Payne School for oracy workshops, CPD and competitions that have brought two schools together. Now he’s in Turkey running workshops on a residential philosophy retreat. A perfect blend of work and rest.
Tom has been busy with Hidden Leaders events at Eltham College, St. Dunstan’s College, Dulwich College, Streatham and Clapham High School, and for staff at Headstart residential care. Ever popular in summer term and September, but with indoor versions available all year round, these days can combine team-building, problem-solving, archery, axe-throwing, treasure hunts, giant catapults and more. And all on your school site.
If your existing enrichment days have you working harder than the kids, and you like the idea of handing someone else the reins, get in touch!
Tom was also helping out with our DofE expeditions over at Outspark. Over the last 3 weeks across our businesses we’ve worked with over 1400 students and trained over 130 school staff. Not bad for a team whose core members could fit in a phone box!
September is now fully booked, but do let us know if you’d like to be added to our waiting list. October and November’s dates are filling up, but some are still available, so if you’d like some oracy workshops and CPD early enough in the school-year to still feel like a new thing for 2026/27, please reach out to us. It really will change your school’s approach to oracy, but don’t just take our word for it…
Dear Tom and Jason,
“We can’t thank you enough! It was such a fantastic opportunity for students and staff alike. It has really created a buzz in the school. I had a really lovely conversation with a colleague in science about how great it was seeing the year 7s engage and reach deeper and deeper thinking. And one of the trainees and I were speaking about the long term impact – if students learn to think more deeply, speak more confidently and question the learning (/topic being discussed), we can imagine that, not only will they be successful in communicating in general, but in any pursuit because it seems this could foster a real sense of curiosity, a passion and drive to challenge and consume knowledge. I was excited about some of the KS4 ideas we discussed in CPD with Jason too and have since started to create a resource I’ll trial on Wednesday with Singh Song! (an AQA poem that my GCSE group will be learning for the first time).
I also wanted to share that the head teacher and the head of the English department at Mark Hall reached out and said how great it was and extended a big thank-you. The students really enjoyed it and were really impressive in their discussions/debates.
Dijana Saray
Literacy Co-Ordinator
Burnt Mill Academy
We wish you all a restful summer break and we’ll be back with more oracy and P4C resources in September!