Dear Parents

 

The Daily Mile

 

The Daily Mile is an initiative which was started in February 2012 by Elaine Wyllie, who was then the head teacher of a large Scottish primary school. She was concerned by the children’s lack of fitness and went on to prove The Daily Mile to be both sustainable and effective in combatting inactivity and obesity in her school. The result was that, in November 2015, the Scottish Government wrote to every Scottish primary school to recommend that they implement the scheme too.

To participate in The Daily Mile, each child in year 6 will go out each day in the fresh air to run, jog or walk at their own pace for 15 minutes. It is not competitive - though some will compete and that is fine. Most children will average a mile in the 15 minutes, with some doing more and some doing less. It is not PE, sport or cross-country but physical activity in a social setting which is aimed at improving the children’s physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing. The children run in their ordinary school clothes with trainers. It can help children to focus and concentrate in the classroom and raise their attainment. And most importantly, the children really enjoy it.

Since 2015, The Daily Mile has been adopted by almost 2000 schools in the UK alone, proving extraordinarily popular with thousands of children, parents and teachers. The initiative is also attracting strong overseas interest and schools have signed up in over 30 different countries. Globally, it has been adopted by over 3000 schools.

We would like to introduce The Daily Mile for year 6 children from Monday 5th June until the end of the academic year. Please ensure your child has their trainers in school every day from Monday 5th June.

In year 6, we are really excited about this new initiative and we are looking forward to the benefits it will bring to the children. To find out more about how it all works, please visit: www.thedailymile.co.uk.