Letter: Moral reasoning for the under-eights

Sir: In her article, 'When they are bad they are horrid' (24 May), Celia Dodd wrote about the teaching materials for six- to eight-year-olds entitled 'You, Me, Us]' that this foundation has just launched with Home Office sponsorship. Far from this project being a 'government initiative', it originated with and has been entirely the responsibility of this foundation.

'You, Me, Us]' does not so much teach primary schoolchildren right and wrong as encourage them to discern that for themselves. The project is thus about moral reasoning.

The materials were extensively tested in 40 primary schools and the results have been startlingly encouraging. Our belief is that if you are serious about citizenship, and enabling all our young people to feel part of a modern state of Byzantine complexity, it is never too early to respect them as thinking, moral beings.

Yours truly,

ANDREW PHILLIPS

Chair, Citizenship Foundation

London, EC1

26 May