This summer, Channel 4 is setting the children of Britain free, transporting the cooped-up and wired-up pandemic generation back to an idyllic old-fashioned summer and the carefree abandon of Swallows and Amazons, away from their parents for the first time.

In a post lockdown world, this timely series aims to explore issues of childhood resilience, freedom and attitudes to nature.

Under the watchful eye of trained professionals, a diverse group of 20 nine to eleven-year olds from across Britain will spend part of their summer living in nature, without parental rules. Empowered to make their own decisions and discover their own resourcefulness, we will ask, who are the children of Britain in 2022 and have we underestimated what they are really capable of?

The series will be filmed in a rural area of Britain at the start of the 2022 school summer holidays. The group of up to 20 children will spend a fortnight living in a specially created wilderness camp.

This fascinating series will observe the children’s responses to being in the wild and also explores their social structures and interactions. They will have to learn to cook and eat in a camp setting and sleep in a communal bunk house as well as encountering the social challenges of the group as they learn to live with other children they have not met before. How will this lockdown generation react to nature and will it change the way they think and feel about the world they will inherit?

Throughout their stay, the children will have extensive adult support to ensure their safeguarding and wellbeing. On camera the children will be supported by adult camp counsellors who will educate them in how to enjoy living in the wild. Additionally, there will be trained chaperones who will ensure the children are safe at all times. Their parents will also be on site, able to watch their progress from remote cameras. Halfway through the shoot the children will be able to take a break and spend at least one night with their parents.

Sara Ramsden, Executive Producer at Love Productions, said: “New and mounting evidence suggests that experiencing adventurous play is effective in reducing childhood anxiety. As this series will break kids away from their screens, we hope it will shed light on the ongoing debate about the influence of phones and social media on children.”

Madonna Benjamin, Channel 4 Commissioning Editor, said: “Kids in the Wild will celebrate childhood by giving the children the opportunity to experience a summer of fun, adventure and new discoveries. It will explore how this generation has been deprived of so much freedom and provide a chance for social cohesion they’ve missed out on. We hope that audiences will gain a privileged insight into just how adaptable and resourceful our children can be.”

Martin Oxley, Executive Producer at Motion Content Group, said: “At the heart of Kids in The Wild is a fascinating and timely exploration of the impact modern life is having on children today, granting them freedom in an idyllic setting to see if they can be set free from the anxieties and pressures that worry parents so much.”

Kids in the Wild (w/t) is a 6x60” made by Love Productions for Channel 4. The Channel 4 Commissioning Editors are Anna Miralis and Madonna Benjamin. It is executive produced for Love Production by Sara Ramsden. The Series Producer is Sue Medhurst.