| answer text |
<p>World-class education is not only about having the highest standards in academic
and technical education, it also means ensuring that education builds character and
resilience.</p><p>We want all children and young people to have opportunities to develop
the key character traits of believing that they can achieve, being able to stick with
the task in hand, seeing a link between effort today and reward in the future, and
being able to bounce back from the knocks that life inevitably brings to all of us.
Character must also be grounded in positive values such as kindness, generosity, fairness,
tolerance and integrity.</p><p>The 5 Foundations for Building Character announced
on 7 February by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education are sport,
creativity, performing, volunteering and membership, and the world of work. Each of
these areas covers a very wide range of activities that children and young people
can enjoy doing. In developing key character traits, research suggests that high-quality
delivery of the 5 foundations should take a structured approach, occur over a sustained
period of time, and be self-directed by the child or young person. Through the support
of teachers, coaches or other professionals, children and young people are more likely
to receive a higher level of challenge and develop the traits that can help them achieve
their goals.</p><p>Play can provide benefits to children and young people through
physical activity and promotion of wellbeing, but the audit of the availability of
out-of-school activities across the country does not currently include playing outside
as that activity does not provide the structured and high quality elements that are
required in character building activities as proposed in the 5 Foundations for Building
Character.</p>
|
|
