Today, we are launching a national campaign asking children to draw a picture of what they want to be when they grow up. The ‘When I grow up…’ campaign aims to celebrate and showcase what children aspire to be and capture their creativity and imagination.
It is based on ‘Drawing the Future’ , our 2017 research survey which involved over 20,000 children drawing pictures of what they wanted to be and answering a series of questions around who or what inspired them and their attitudes to learning. Done in partnership with the NAHT, OECD Education and Skills, TES and UCL Institute of Education, children in 20 countries took part and we have repeated the study, most recently in Sweden – report here.
The aim of ‘When I grow up…’ , which is free to all schools, is to kickstart conversations with children and help them explore what is possible. The quick and easy activity has proven effective and feedback from teachers who piloted it found that it really helped facilitate conversations with children about the importance of the subjects they are studying and their attitude to learning and school. Many schools will be using the drawings to make eye catching, colorful displays and a selection of these together with some individual drawings will be featured in an online national gallery.
To help busy teachers we have put together a simple resource with the drawing template and a lesson plan.
Click here for your school to take part
The campaign coincides with the 10th anniversary of Primary Futures, a free programme for primary schools that connects schools with inspiring role models from across the world of work. Set up and run in partnership with the NAHT it aims to broaden horizons, raise aspirations, challenge stereotypes and excite children about their futures by linking learning in school to the wider world. 11,000 primary teachers from 7000 primary schools have registered together with 90,000 volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds and professions.
