Pupils should ditch gadgets and climb trees in 2019, Damian Hinds tells schools

A new downloadable “activity passport” aimed at encouraging school pupils to ditch their gadgets and pursue “new interests” has been launched by the education secretary.

The printable document, which allows pupils to tick when they’ve completed 140 prescribed activities such as searching for butterflies and taking part in a Roman banquet, is part of a drive to boost resilience in children.

Other activities listed include climbing trees, staying away from home for a night, baking a cake and learning to sew buttons onto clothes.

The list will be sent to schools in January, but is not mandatory.

What’s on the inside – someone’s character, drive, resilience, and the ability to stick to a goal – is just as important as their academic achievements

Damian Hinds said the list was inspired by his visit this year to St Werburgh’s Primary School in Bristol, where every child is encouraged to take part in a list of tasks and experiences, with key achievements for each school year to tick off.

It is the second time in a week that the DfE has announced a new initiative inspired by the actions of a single school. On Thursday, the department announced Hinds’s desire to see all schools follow the lead of a school in Devon and go single-use-plastic-free by 2022.

There are 20 activities for each primary school year group, and they get more complicated as children progress through school. For example, reception pupils will be encouraged to visit a farm, fly a kite or dress up as a pirate, while year 6 pupils are urged to write a speech, learn how to access the news or visit a new city.

Damian Hinds said: “When I first became education secretary, almost a year ago, I went around asking everyone I met what they wanted for their children.

“The instinctive answer that came back was never about the curriculum or qualifications, vital as these are – what they wanted first and foremost was for their child to be happy and healthy. As a father that’s what I want for my children and as education secretary that’s what I want for all children in this country.”

Hinds said he heard “regularly” from teachers “that it’s important that children have the chance to try things out, to get a taste of the world around them, to see and do things that they wouldn’t normally do, or go to places they wouldn’t normally go”.

“Experience is a great teacher and can equip children with valuable skills that prepare for any challenges life may throw at them. What’s on the inside – someone’s character, drive, resilience, and the ability to stick to a goal – is just as important as their academic achievements.”

The passports are endorsed by groups including the Scouts, Girlguiding, Action for Children and the National Trust.

The activities

Reception

1. Visit a farm
2. Paint a self portrait
3. Plant some bulbs and watch them grow
4. Go on an autumn walk
5. Make leaf rubbings
6. Make a sandwich
7. Taste a new fruit
8. Visit a place of worship
9. Fly a kite
10. Make a paper boat and see if it floats
11. Perform a song
12. Re-tell a story to an audience
13. Post a letter
14. Meet a friend’s pet
15. Search for butterflies outdoors
16. Take a photograph
17. Make a treasure map
18. Dress up like a pirate
19. Look up where you live on a map
20. Have a teddy bears picnic

Year 1

1. Record different sounds and ask others toguess what they are
2. Make some biscuits
3. Make and taste chapattis
4. Make a puppet
5. Put on a shadow puppet show
6. Borrow a book from a library
7. Discover what is in a pond
8. Create a piece of art for an exhibition
9. Look up at the stars on a clear night
10. Perform a dance
11. Go on a hunt for some insects or small creatures
12. Make a home for an insect or small creature
13. Create a class collage
14. Create a comic strip
15. Take part in a play day
16. Roll down a hill
17. Make a daisy chain
18. Join an extra-curricular club
19. Build a den
20. Perform in front of your class

Year 2

1. Plan a party
2. Play a board game
3. Learn a poem off by heart
4. Take a trip to the seaside or walk alongside a river
5. Bake a cake
6. Buy something and check your change
7. Write a weather report for your class
8. Build a bridge and test its strength
9. Become a nature detective
10. Dress up as a superhero
11. Make a film
12. Start a vegetable patch
13. Pick blackberries
14. Get soaking wet in the rain
15. Go bird watching
16. Learn a French song
17. Walk barefoot on the sand or on a nature trail
18. Start a collection and share it with your class
19. Walk to a local landmark
20. Make a mask

Year 3

1. Compose a piece of music
2. Take part in a Roman banquet
3. Eat something you’ve not tried before
4. Create a mosaic
5. Design and make a board game
6. Climb a tree
7. Create a soundtrack for a piece of film
8. Make a pinhole camera
9. Make a musical instrument
10. Light a candle
11. Learn a new game
12. Make something out of wood
13. Cook outdoors
14. Learn to play a game of cards
15. Tell your class about your favourite character from a book
16. Produce rubbings of fossils
17. Try yoga
18. Eat something you have grown
19. Visit an art gallery
20. Stay away from home for a night

Year 4

1. Make chocolate
2. Create a display for show and tell
3. Write and perform a poem
4. Perform in a play
5. Watch a play or a dance production
6. Use a camera to document a performance
7. Choreograph a dance
8. Make a sculpture
9. Create a sculpture trail
10. Explore inside a cave
11. Walk through a forest
12. Learn about a new religion and visit a new place of worship
13. Make up your own game and teach it to someone
14. Visit a museum
15. Skim stones
16. Visit a castle
17. Swim outside
18. Learn to sew on a button
19. Go hiking
20. Take part in a treasure hunt

Year 5

1. Take part in a debate
2. Learn something new about your local area
3. Learn to moon walk
4. Make and launch an air powered rocket
5. Use an OS map
6. Go orienteering
7. Do a blind folded taste test
8. Write a story for the Reception class
9. Make a large scale model
10. Visit a science laboratory
11. Write a play
12. Experience a Victorian school room
13. Put on a performance
14. Make papier mache planets
15. Climb something that is taller than you
16. Walk to the top of a hill
17. Write in hieroglyphics
18. Pick litter in your local area
19. Plan and cook a meal
20. Design and make an electric model

Year 6

1. Keep a diary for a week
2. Take a trip on a train
3. Send an email
4. Learn to knit
5. Write a speech
6. Vote in a school election
7. Plan a tour around your local area
8. Interview someone
9. Visit a local charity and find out how you can support them
10. Learn how to access the news
11. Design a product or business idea and pitch it to ‘investors’
12. Choose objects to put in a time capsule
13. Write and record/broadcast a radio play
14. Sleep under canvas
15. Make a dessert
16. Organise tea for parents and carers
17. See the sun set
18. See the sun rise
19. Go on a picnic
20. Visit a new city