What if professional learning could unlock the deeper thinking that changes people and their practice?
Between Autumn 2024 and Spring 2025, two cohorts of Barnardo's staff embarked on a pilot study of a new approach to social care learning and development. Drawing on philosophical education and delivered by Dr Rebekah Howes and Professor Nigel Tubbs, the course piloted to these two Barnardo's cohorts was conceived and constructed in response to a conundrum at the heart of practice: that while we know social care practitioners engage thoughtfully with complexity both in training and in their work, serious case reviews repeatedly cite a need for them to be more professionally curious and capable critical thinkers.
If we know that practitioners possess these skills, how can learning and development give them the kinds of educational experiences which enable them to practise these vital skills and bring them more self-consciously into a working environment shaped by risk, time pressure, and emotional complexity?
Our answer to this question — and the approach that underpinned this pilot — is what we call philosophical professional education.
Far from being abstract, philosophy here means creating space to think, question assumptions, explore dilemmas, and find meaning in the pressures of daily work.
This webinar brings you the story and the findings of the Barnardo's pilot study. You'll hear what the sessions looked like, what participants discovered, and how it helped them reconnect with the work they do.
Join us to explore how a different kind of learning experience can not only support professional development, but also nurture wellbeing and positive learning cultures. If you are responsible for or interested in learning culture in public services, this webinar is for you.
