Co-founder and Practice Lead

Dr Yan holds a PhD in Philosophy from Sun Yat-sen University and has spent over a decade in primary and secondary education in China. He is known for pioneering practical approaches to Philosophy for Children (P4C) in Chinese classrooms and has developed cross-disciplinary curricula that integrate philosophical enquiry, local culture, and outdoor learning. He previously taught at Nao Experimental School in Guangzhou and Shanghai Pinghe Bilingual School, where his work sparked national media attention, including features in Sanlian Life Weekly, The Educator by Guangming Daily, and Bund Education. He is also the author of Doing Philosophy with Children (Sanlian Publishing).

Since 2019, Dr Yan has been deeply involved in training teachers in P4C pedagogy and was appointed as a practice mentor at East China Normal University. After relocating to the UK, he completed a PGCE programme and obtained Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), further deepening his understanding of British schooling. Now based in London, he continues to explore how philosophy and nature-based learning can support children’s thinking, language, and social development in cross-cultural contexts.

At Inchwise Education, Dr Yan leads on practice design and programme delivery. He sees himself as a translator between vision and reality—someone who helps turn abstract ideas into living, breathing learning experiences. His work is grounded in the belief that children grow best not through pressure, but through wonder, dialogue, and relationship.

While Inchwise Education was originally born from Dr Peng’s vision of relational, reflective education, Dr Yan found in that vision a home for his own long-standing commitment to slow, practice-based growth. His contribution lies in building the structures, rhythms, and methods that bring this vision to life—in philosophy circles, nature walks, and quiet moments of insight, inch by inch.

Co-founder and Vision Lead

Before stepping fully into education, Dr Peng was a widely read social commentator in China, known for her writing on gender, justice, and power. She began her career in journalism and cultural criticism, engaging deeply with public discourse. But over time, she became increasingly aware of its limits. “Critical voices can awaken a few,” she often says, “but only education can shape a generation.”

That belief led her to the classroom—not just to speak, but to listen, to teach, and to learn alongside others. As a university lecturer, she taught philosophy, sociology, gender studies and media theory, and helped foster open conversations on feminism and social responsibility. She saw clearly that the awakening of women—and of any marginalised group—is not a single moment, but a slow, intergenerational project. Education, for her, is the means by which social understanding moves from idea to inheritance.

After relocating to the UK, Dr Peng began to focus on younger learners, particularly children growing up across languages and cultures. She found that the greatest challenge for such children was not access to knowledge, but the development of voice, presence, and belonging. She began asking: how do we help children navigate identity, ambiguity and difference—not defensively, but creatively and with confidence?

These questions gave rise to Inchwise Education—a space where philosophy, language and cultural sensitivity come together in slow, thoughtful learning. Dr Peng now leads on curriculum design and pedagogical vision, building programmes that support reflective growth across borders. Her approach is rooted in the idea that education is not about performance, but about relationship; not about giving answers, but about learning to ask meaningful questions.

At Inchwise, she works closely with her co-founder Dr Yan, whose practice-led expertise in P4C and nature-based learning brings her vision to life. Together, they believe that real progress doesn’t happen in leaps, but in inches—through connection, reflection, and care.