Let’s Go Fly a Kite! Finding joy in playing – screen free!

Written by Jo Gotheridge

Working with children over 29 years as a primary school teaching, predominantly in Derbyshire, has been a gift in so many ways.

But sadly the education system (particularly in recent years) does not always allow for much creativity or freedom for children to be children. My fondest memories of the job, looking back will always be the following:

• End of year visits to the beach for sandcastles, fish and chips and swimming in the sea.

• Residential stays with zip wires, kayaking, card games before bed and PJs.

• Cooking adventures (or chaos!) after school creating smoothies, shortbread and pizzas.

• Making Viking ships out of cardboard boxes.

What do you notice?

Is it that one Math's lesson that I recall? Is the feedback from the Ofsted inspector?

No it most certainly is not. I feel so grateful to have worked for two Headteachers who allowed me the freedom to be creative and were encouraging of my ‘ wild and wacky ’ ideas - which occurred quite regularly.

If children are not offered chances to feel unbounded joy making mandalas out of petals and dens out of sticks, what chance do they have to be creative as adults?

Initiatives and societies such as Scouts and Forest Schools help keep this drive to utilise nature ’ s playground but sadly technological advances have tempted children away from some pleasures we sought

What child wouldn’t like making things out of sticks and toasting marshmallows by the fire?

Two of my treasured childhood books were ‘When we were very young ’ and ‘Now we are six ’ by AA Milne. The image of Christopher Robin playing ‘ poohsticks ’ in the quintessentially English setting is etched on my mind, as it will be for many of us.

The world AA Milne created of stone skimming and adventures in the woods may be somewhat sanitised but it is these ventures, ones led by nature, which will burn long in our memories, not those playing on a phone or watching a You Tube clip.

Maybe after a long while of squeezing the ‘ arts ’ out of the curriculum, a change is coming? The new government are being urged to priorities creativity in their 10 year plan.

CEO of Access Art Paula Briggs said: “The government has said it understands the importance of arts education, but now we need to see commitment and action. Listen to the experts.

“Arts education isn’t an optional extra; it’ s how children develop confidence, curiosity, creativity and a sense of agency. If we truly value those qualities, we need to make arts education a priority for every child.”

There are other encouraging seeds of change, led by our communities, one Leeds estate has been praised for closing the road during set times to allow the children to able to play freely and collaboratively outside in the Summer holidays, not cooped up inside on their own.

Long may we aim to nurture creativity, spontaneity and imagination with our future generations.

We need to make sure our children still have the chance to experience pure, unbounded joy where they laugh until it hurts, blow bubbles watching where they land and make daisy chains until the sun sets.