Welsh Government encourages schools to adopt The Daily Mile
- Minister for Social Services and Public Health, Rebecca Evans, said: “We want to ensure children across Wales have good physical, emotional and social health and wellbeing. This is why we are encouraging primary schools to take part in innovative schemes to help children be more active, such as The Daily Mile. The initiative builds upon the good work already taking place throughout Wales, such as the Welsh Network of Health Schools Scheme.”
- Education Secretary, Kirsty Williams, said: “Creating more fun opportunities for young people to get moving is key to ensuring they achieve the recommended 60 minutes a day of physical activity. Engaging with The Daily Mile will support primary schools to implement the new curriculum, which puts a focus on making physical activity a more routine part of the school day.”
- The Daily Mile Founder Elaine Wyllie added, “I am delighted to support the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales in encouraging all primary schools in Wales to sign up to The Daily Mile. Wales is facing a large public health crisis, with more than a quarter of 4-5 year olds (26.2%) either overweight or obese. It is down to us, as responsible adults, to affect the change that will improve, not only the physical fitness, but the wider health and wellbeing of our children for years to come.“
Primary schools across the country have been encouraged to sign up to The Daily Mile – a simple programme that gets children walking, jogging or running for 15 minutes each day. The Daily Mile is easy to implement, it is fun for everyone involved and crucially – it is free for schools to implement.
The Minister for Social Services and Public Health, Rebecca Evans, and Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kirsty Williams, have written to head teachers in primary schools to encourage them to take up The Daily Mile. Speaking of their commitment to improve the physical activity levels of primary-aged children and young people in Wales, Rebecca Evans said: “We want to ensure children across Wales are fit for life. The Daily Mile is a simple and innovate approach to improve the physical, emotional and social wellbeing of our children.”
Education Secretary, Kirsty Williams, said: “Creating more fun opportunities for young people to get moving is key to ensuring they achieve the recommended 60 minutes a day of physical activity.”
“Engaging with The Daily Mile will support primary schools to implement the new curriculum, which puts a focus on making physical activity a more routine part of the school day,” she added.
In addition to the obvious health and fitness benefits that result from daily physical activity, recent research has further revealed that doing a Daily Mile improves behaviour in class, and attainment. Teachers report that children concentrate better in class, and come back from their Daily Mile refreshed and ready to learn, whilst parents comment that their children are eating and sleeping better.
Commenting on the news, Founder of The Daily Mile, Elaine Wyllie, has said: “I am delighted to support the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales in encouraging all primary schools in Wales to sign up to The Daily Mile. Wales is facing a large public health crisis, with a more than a quarter of 4-5 year olds (26.2%) either overweight or obese. It is down to us, as responsible adults, to affect the change that will improve, not only the physical fitness, but the wider health and wellbeing of our children for years to come.”
Interested schools are encouraged to visit www.thedailymile.cymru to find out more about the initiative, and access a range of downloadable bilingual resources.
Media Contacts
For media enquiries, please contact The Daily Mile Foundation’s Media Agency, Media Zoo on (+44)207 384 6980, at [email protected]