This article discusses a project designed to build a community of enquiry in the first year of a foundation degree in early years at an English university. Derived originally from Lipman's ideas of Philosophy for Children, this approach became a regular part of the fortnightly session for these early childhood practitioners, in order to support them to apply criticality to their learning. The project was evaluated using an action research approach and participant comments suggested that the community of enquiry, though challenging, had several aspects which supported student learning. These are identified as relational pedagogy, enabling discussion and reflective practice. The article concludes that building a community of enquiry was beneficial not only in improving students' learning but also in validating the foundation degree student profile as early years practitioners practising what Osgood calls "emotional professionalism".