A passport of activities tool, launched in December as part of a drive to inspire primary school children to try new life experiences, has been downloaded over 42,000 times in four months, averaging 375 times a day.

As the Easter break came to an end, the government says downloads of the passport – backed by the Scouts, Girlguiding UK and the National Trust – means hundreds of families and children will have been encouraged to try a range of new activities.

Discussing the initiative, Education Secretary Damian Hinds said: “The activity passport is a way for children to channel their natural curiosity into experiencing new things or places, while also preparing them for the challenges life throws at us all by developing valuable skills like confidence, tenacity or commitment.

“When I visit schools or organisations around the country, a common quality I see among children is their enthusiasm to try new activities that challenge them – and ultimately how they learn to do things they never knew they could do.

“With thousands of passports downloaded – the equivalent of 16 times every hour since it launched – I’m hopeful that even more families will use the passport as inspiration for spending quality time together.”

Hinds visited St Werburgh’s Primary School in Bristol, where every child is encouraged to take part in a list of tasks and experiences, with key achievements for each school year to tick off.

Schools in England were sent the new passport in January for teachers to adapt to the needs of their pupils and their communities, including opportunities for children to take part in charitable projects that make positive changes for themselves and others around them.

Through social media, teachers, schools and charities have been sharing their ideas and their progress with activities, via the hashtag #myactivitypassport.

Angela Salt, CEO of Girlguiding, said: “Thanks to the dedicated work of volunteers, hundreds of thousands of girls take part in activities with Girlguiding each week. We want all young people to have fun, explore their interests, and make a difference. That’s why we contributed to the Activity Passport and are glad that so many young people are using it and downloading it.”