Tests at school and screens at home ‘squeeze out play time’

CHILDREN need to spend more time playing to counter the effects of relentless testing in school and the online distractions at home, the head of a leading museum said yesterday.

Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria & Albert, said that, with art and other creative subjects being squeezed by the curriculum, making the time to play has never been so important.

‘Children growing up in England today are among the most tested in the world, whilst, at home, iPhones and iPads have come to the detriment of many of the crucial skills which play offers – such as the opportunity to problem-solve, physically explore and imagine,’ he argued.

‘With art, design and music under pressure in the school curriculum, we believe championing creativity and the transformational power of play is more important than ever.’

The V&A is planning a £13million redevelopment of its Museum Of Childhood.

Mary Poppins’ umbrella, objects displayed at toddlers’ height, and rooms inspired by Alice in Wonderland will be among the highlights of the venue, due to reopen in 2022.

Mr Hunt said the redevelopment aims to ‘prise young eyes away from their screens and offer an escape from the timetables, Kumon (a maths and English study programme) and cramming’.

The museum will ‘trace the myths, fables and inspiration’ behind characters such as Paddington Bear and Pokemon’s Pikachu as well as the Loch Ness Monster. Some 2,000 objects from the V&A’s collections will go on display at the V&A Museum Of Childhood, in Bethnal Green, east London.

It will also be home to Beatrix Potter’s illustrations from the world of Peter Rabbit and the life-size West End War Horse puppet, Joey.

The original Superman costume and Frankenstein’s Monster will be on show against a backdrop of theatrical displays ‘to inspire the next generation of screenwriters, authors and story-tellers’.

The museum wants to ‘nurture the potential of future generations and become a global champion of children’s creativity’, Mr Hunt said. The museum closes for the revamp on May 11.