What The Philosophy Foundation does

The Philosophy Foundation is a UK registered charity (charity number 1140338, company number 7416912), founded in 2007 and headquartered in London, that delivers philosophy-based educational programmes primarily to children, schools, and corporate clients. Its core offering is Philosophy for Children (P4C), delivered through weekly in-school sessions by visiting and resident philosophers, structured workshops, transition programmes, and a proprietary Philosophical Enquiry (PhiE) methodology developed over 20+ years of daily classroom practice. The Foundation complements direct delivery with a tiered training and accreditation pathway (Foundations of Philosophical Enquiry at £339 in-person or £325 online; Specialist Philosophy Teacher accreditation at £375), an award-winning book portfolio (The If Machine, The If Odyssey, 40 Lessons, Thoughtings, EYFS Curriculum), and online programmes including the Young Philosophers Club for ages 7-16.

The Foundation operates across multiple customer segments: schools from nursery through secondary, prisons (HMP Belmarsh, HMP Brixton, Thorn Cross), hospital schools (Great Ormond Street), home-educator groups, corporate clients (documented FTSE 100 relationships with BP and RBS), and community/public audiences via partnerships with Conway Hall and major UK festivals. Revenue is diversified across training fees, school service contracts (often Pupil Premium funded), book sales via Bloomsbury and Amazon, corporate workshop fees, monthly donation tiers (£5/£10/£25), and grant funding from foundations including Paul Hamlyn, Royal Institute of Philosophy, and Evan Cornish. Distribution is primarily direct/relationship-based, supplemented by festival presence, digital content marketing, and a free membership funnel.

The organisation is co-led by co-CEOs Emma Worley MBE (awarded for services to innovation in the 2020 New Year Honours, also President of SOPHIA) and Peter Worley (author of multiple published methodologies). Both are Visiting Research Associates at King's College London, anchoring a research and credentialing moat. Operating geographies span the UK (London, Belfast, Sheffield, Manchester, Edinburgh, Brighton, Cambridge, Oxford, etc.) with an early international presence in Denmark via FiSK. Headcount is reported at 1-10, consistent with a small, lean charitable operating model.

Name

The Philosophy Foundation

Legal name

The Philosophy Foundation

Website

https://philosophy-foundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Philosophy Foundation is a UK registered charity founded in 2007 that delivers Philosophy for Children (P4C) programmes in schools, prisons, hospitals, and corporate settings using a proprietary Philosophical Enquiry methodology, complemented by teacher training, an award-winning publications portfolio, and the Young Philosophers Club for ages 7-16.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philosophy Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Philosophy education
• Children's critical thinking
• Teacher training programmes
• Philosophical enquiry services
• P4C programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Forest Hill

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Training Courses: The Foundation offers paid training courses including Foundations of Philosophical Enquiry (2 days in-person at £339 or 5 days online at £325), Advanced Facilitation training, and various teacher training programmes. They also offer accreditation pathways for Specialist Philosophy Teachers (£375 fee). Revenue is generated through course fees, with bursaries available for some programmes.
2. Educational Publications and Books: Sale of published books including The If Machine, The If Odyssey, Once Upon an If, 40 Lessons, Thoughtings, Provocations, The Philosophy Shop, The Numberverse, and the EYFS Curriculum. Books are sold through the TPF shop and major retailers like Bloomsbury and Amazon.
3. School Services: Weekly philosophy sessions delivered by visiting philosophers in schools, one-off workshops, pilot programmes (10 weeks), and resident philosopher programmes. Schools pay for these services, often funded through Pupil Premium.
4. Donations and Membership: Regular giving programme with monthly donation tiers (£5, £10, £25 per month) offering membership perks including free tickets to Think & Drink events, early booking for TPF events, and other membership benefits. Single donations also accepted. Gift Aid scheme available for UK taxpayers.
5. Business Training: Corporate philosophy training including Critical Thinking Masterclass, Creative Thinking Masterclass, Questioning Masterclass, Keynote Talks, Values and Culture sessions, and Philosophical Enquiry in Business. Sold directly to corporate clients (8-16 participants, 3-5 hour workshops).
6. Online Courses: Online philosophy courses for children (Young Philosophers Club) and adults (The Art of Argument, Dealing with Decisions). Some courses are free or funded for schools.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Philosophy Foundation is a UK-registered educational charity that delivers philosophical enquiry programmes, teacher training, and corporate workshops. It runs weekly philosophy sessions in primary, secondary, nursery, hospital, and prison settings using its proprietary Philosophical Enquiry (PhiE) methodology. It also sells books, online courses, and a curriculum product, and runs festivals, community events, and a Young Philosophers Club.

Product overview

The Philosophy Foundation is an educational charity offering philosophy sessions and training programmes for children, adults, businesses, and community groups. The core offering is Philosophy for Children (P4C), which brings philosophical enquiry to schools through weekly sessions, workshops, and training programmes. Their portfolio includes face-to-face programmes (Philosophy in Schools, Hospital Schools, Philosophy in Prisons, Community Groups) and online offerings (Young Philosophers Club, online courses like The Art of Argument and Dealing with Decisions, Holiday Clubs). They provide professional development through Foundations of Philosophical Enquiry Training, Advanced Facilitation, and Open Questioning Mindset Training for educators. Their publications include The If Machine, The If Odyssey, Once Upon an If, 40 Lessons, The Philosophy Shop, Provocations, Thoughtings, The Numberverse, and EYFS Curriculum. Business services include Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, and Questioning Masterclasses. The company also runs the National Thinking Classroom Awards programme in partnership with Teaching Times, and offers the Young Plato Documentary educational resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Philosophy Shop: Historical name used in early press coverage referring to the organization's work in bringing philosophy to schools and communities.

Products and services

• Philosophy in Schools (Primary) Weekly philosophy sessions and one-off workshops delivered by TPF visiting or resident philosophers in UK primary schools, covering Key Stages 1 and 2. Targets speaking, listening, reasoning, and metacognition.
• Philosophy in Secondary Schools Half-day or full-day philosophy workshops and monthly classes for secondary schools, including transition projects for Year 7 students and Scholars programmes for Oxbridge preparation.
• Philosophy in Nursery Schools (EYFS)

Quantifiable outcome

• 62% improvement in critical thinking and metacognitive skills for KS2+ students after 2-year programme
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered support, core and supporting.

• King & SpaldingsupportOthers · 1 January 2024Renowned international law firm providing The Philosophy Foundation with practical legal advice throughout 2024. Their London office represents clients on significant and strategic matters in the UK and globally.
• HowTheLightGetsIn / Institute of Art and Ideas (IAI)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerHowTheLightGetsIn is the world's largest philosophy and music festival, powered by the Institute of Art and Ideas (IAI). TPF is a media partner for the festival, which convenes world's leading thinkers bi-annually in Hay and London.
• Tooled Up EducationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTooled Up Education provides evidence-based resources for schools and parents. TPF is collaborating with them to create resources that can be used as springboards for greater philosophical thinking at home.
• King's College London (KCL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-faceted partnership including: research on pedagogy and impact on children's learning; philosophy sessions in prisons with support from philosophy department; outreach and widening participation programme training philosophy graduates to become accredited specialist philosophy teachers. Emma and Peter Worley are both Visiting Research Associates at KCL.
• SOPHIA NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Foundation for the Advancement of Doing Philosophy with Children. Emma Worley is the current President of SOPHIA and Steve Hoggins is the Network Meeting coordinator. Brings together different practices across Europe.
• Thinking SpacesupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCommunity Interest Company based in Sheffield founded by Grace Lockrobin. A community of philosophers doing philosophical enquiry in schools, theatres, art galleries and festivals. Share knowledge, ideas, philosophers and directors.
• Filosofi i Skolen (FiSK)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhilosophy in the School project at University of Southern Denmark. TPF helped create first International Training Programme. Peter and Emma ran training for philosophy graduates, undergraduates and teachers in Denmark in 2018. The If Machine has been translated into Danish.
• Enable Education / Red T MediasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnable Education is parent company of Red T Media whose resources for doing philosophy with children range from books to computer games. TPF is happy to support their work and collaborate to bring resources into life on other platforms.
• London School of Economics (LSE)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorked with LSE philosophy department. LSE Philosophy Department runs conferences for students and INSET days for teachers. Professor Luc Bovens, Head of Department of Philosophy at LSE has provided testimonial about partnership value.
• SAPEREsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK Charity: Society for Advancing Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education. Provides teacher training in P4/wC, the UK model of P4C. Listed as partner network.
• Conway HallsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerTPF works with Conway Hall to run public philosophy events. Conway Hall is a venue known for intellectual events and free speech.
• Soilsiu FilmssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced the Young Plato documentary set in Belfast. TPF has partnered with Soilsiu Films to develop educational resource packs and lesson plans for use alongside the film.
• Teaching TimescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner with Teaching Times on the Thinking Classroom Programme and National Thinking Classroom Awards. Teaching Times is a leading school resources provider.
• Conversations on AIsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to facilitate online events for young adults discussing AI and social media. TPF facilitates dialogue with young people on these topics.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• The Brilliant Club: UK education charity placing PhD researchers in non-Russell Group state schools to deliver critical thinking tutorials—overlaps TPF's scholars programme for Oxbridge preparation and university-led school enrichment work, with wider scale and corporate backing.
• Royal Institute of Philosophy: Major UK funder of public philosophy and endows TPF's prison programme. Less a direct competitor than an adjacent incumbent sharing the UK philosophy-in-education funding pool with grantmaking scale TPF cannot match.

Direct peers

• SOPHIA Network: European Foundation for the Advancement of Doing Philosophy with Children—pan-European network of organisations doing philosophy with children. TPF's co-CEO is current President; same philosophical-enquiry cohort operating across Europe.
• Thinking Space: Sheffield-based Community Interest Company running philosophical enquiry in schools, theatres, art galleries and festivals. Identical operating model (philosophical enquiry delivered by trained facilitators in schools) and listed by TPF as a partner sharing philosophers and directors.
• Enable Education (Red T Media): Develops P4C resources for children including books and computer games. Direct competitor in P4C content and curriculum products and listed by TPF as a collaborating partner.
• SAPERE: UK charity (Society for Advancing Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education) that delivers P4C teacher training across the UK—the exact same philosophical enquiry with children category that TPF operates in. Most direct competitor for P4C training contracts and accreditation pathways.
• Lifting Limits: UK education charity working with schools on critical thinking, gender stereotypes and higher aspirations—direct thematic peer to TPF's scholars and oracy programmes, listed as TPF partner, with overlapping school-level intervention delivery.

Emerging players

• Center for Philosophy for Children (Montana / US): US-based center translating P4C methods for American schools with research-driven curricular resources. Operates in the same philosophical enquiry with children category across a different geography, providing comparable curriculum, training, and teacher-development models.
• Tooled Up Education: Evidence-based resources provider partnering with TPF to develop parent-facing philosophical thinking tools. Adjacent emerging peer in evidence-led home/school thinking-skills resources that increasingly competes for the same school-affiliated mindshare.

Regional players

• Filosofi i Skolen (FiSK): Philosophy in the School project at University of Southern Denmark—the Danish equivalent of TPF. Direct peer operating same model in a different geography; TPF helped create their first international training programme and The If Machine is translated into Danish.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/philosophyfound
• YouTubesoundcloud.com/philosophy-foundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/thephilosophyfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5394007

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Philosophy Foundation