Tessa Jowell has pledged she will ensure all London schoolchildren before the age of 10 will be given the opportunity to take part in 10 life-forming experiences, including an overnight camping trip, learning a new sport, a trip to the seaside and learning to perform through music, dance or drama. She also promises that every child will learn to ride a bike safely by 1o.
The character-enriching experiences are to be funded by a levy on all London hotel bedrooms likely to raise £50m a year.
Speaking before an Observer London Labour mayoral hustings on Monday night, Jowell, the lead Labour candidate, said: “Ten things to do before you’re 10 has a very simple message – every child should be able to enjoy the rich experiences of childhood beyond school.
“As children begin their summer holidays the sad truth is that as the majority of children look forward to weeks of enjoyment and wonder, a minority of London children will wake up each day with nothing special to look forward to.
“Today, inequality is baked into our children’s lives, from their first 1,000 days to their first 10 years and their time through school. It’s not just a poverty of wealth but a poverty of experience too.
“If I become the next mayor of London I will make this promise to London children – if you grow up in London, we will offer you 10 things to do before you’re 10: a programme about inspiration and participation, helping children develop their capacity and capability as well as providing the space for the fun and memories of childhood.”
Jowell, who has pledged to revive Sure Start children’s centres in London, believes that character really counts when it comes to a child’s life chances and that the “non-cognitive” skills developed through sport, music and outdoor activities improve children’s educational performance as well as their future earning potential.
The scheme would be paid for through a 1% levy on hotel rooms in London, which House of Commons library research has estimated could raise in excess of £50m a year. This would require new powers from government – until such time as those powers were devolved, this levy could be collected on a voluntary basis from tourists, she said.
As a first stage, Jowell would provide funding through the Greater London authority to bring the programme to the 100 primary schools with the highest proportion of children on free school meals, to get the scheme under way in her first full year as mayor of London.
A 1% hotel levy on the nightly cost of a room would be imposed on every stay in London and would be payable by room occupants.
In 2014 there were 130,000 hotel rooms in London, with an average nightly rate of £127 and an occupancy rate of 83%. Jowell said that multiplying these together added to a total of £50m.
A number of other major cities around the world impose a hotel levy, including New York, Paris and Rome.
