Neil Phillipson

I have been a teacher, subject leader and consultant since 1999 and now provide support and training to schools and trainee teachers. I completed a PhD in Chemistry in 1995 and spent some time working as a research chemist in the pharmaceutical industry before making the leap to teaching. I worked as a head of science in a comprehensive school in the UK before being offered a wider role with a local authority; this gave me opportunities to work with children of all ages (I have some teaching experience in all five 'key stages' of the English education system). My interest in dialogue began when I encountered Philosophy for Children (P4C) in 2009. The majority of my work is now connected by the theme of dialogic education; I believe that dialogue is an essential educational tool and a profoundly important educational end point in its own right. I have been running my own business since 2013. Born and raised in Sheffield, I am now based in the English county of Cheshire, where I live with my wife and two children. I am a keen runner and can still run rings around my boys on the football pitch (they would, of course, beg to differ!)