Primary school pupils are being asked to draw the jobs they want to do when they grow up, in a national survey aimed at understanding the factors that could be limiting children’s horizons.

The survey aims to find out more about children’s career aspirations and the factors that may be influencing their choices. It is being launched today by Tes, the charity Education and Employers, the NAHT headteachers’ union, and the UCL Institute of Education.

Drawing the Future, which is being supported by OECD Education, will see children aged 7 to 11 drawing a picture of the job they might want to do when they are older.

A pilot of the survey provided a glimpse of the type of work expected to be produced as part of the project:

With primary schools in a number of other countries taking part, the aim of the project is to get a better understanding of the breadth of children’s horizons to see if this is influenced by their social background, who they know and the media.

It will also look at the extent to which gender-specific stereotyping is affecting children’s choices.

Schools can download information about how to submit an entry from the Education and Employers website.

Entries must be received by 23 October 2017.