Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins has put down his spade to call on the government to ensure that every child has the chance to have a go at growing their own while at school.

A new campaign to promote the healthy, educational benefits of growing has been backed by children’s author Michael Morpurgo, green author Dominic Murphy, Emmerdale actor Lyndon Ogbourne, Rosie Boycott, the chair of London Food Board, and a coalition of charities including the Royal Horticultural Society, Good Gardeners' Association, Garden Organic and the Children’s Food Campaign.

The campaigners want the next secretary of state for education to ensure that every school has space for food growing and training for teachers, while Ofsted inspections check that food growing is being taught.

Collins said: “I've been fortunate enough to engage children in the fine art of gardening for a number of years now. It is a subject that comes naturally to them. Let us take advantage of this and use the vehicles of growing food and the school environment to improve their lives, both in terms of the food they consume and their physical and spiritual wellbeing.”

Dominic Murphy, author of The Playground Potting Shed: A Foolproof Guide to Gardening with Children, said: “I know plenty of teachers who would love to spend more time helping children learn about growing food, but there’s not enough support from the government and they have to do it in their spare time. The government makes all the right noises - but too often they rely on volunteers to do the work on the ground.”

Rosie Boycott, chair of London Food Board, said: “It has been shown that kids who grow their own go on to eat more healthily and appreciate good, nourishing food. Many kids in cities like London don't know the magic of seeing a seed flourish into an item you can eat, or even the names of common vegetables. This is what we want to help schools conjure up in London and across the UK to create a nation of micro farms.”