The Daily Mile funding announcement
by Educate Magazine January 15, 2019 · Education News
Sport England have announced they have committed £1.5 million of National Lottery funding to support The Daily Mile™, the ground-breaking fitness initiative that aims to get children fit for life.
Merseyside Sports Partnership (MSP), who are the strategic organisation dedicated to unlocking the power of sport and physical activity across the whole of the Liverpool City Region are delighted to be able to confirm that they have been awarded £100k from that national pot to help primary school pupils across Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral benefit from the scheme.
A dedicated Daily Mile co-ordinator, Trish Conning, was appointed to MSP’s team at the beginning of December, in anticipation of the formal announcement. She’s already hit the ground running, getting out and about ahead of the Christmas break to meet with school headteachers and PE leads.
Speaking about her new role Trish said: “We know from the Active Lives Children and Young People Survey (Dec 2018) that 57% of primary pupils in the Liverpool City Region are doing less than the chief medical officer’s recommendation of 60 minutes of physical activity a day.
“The Daily Mile is a fantastic, simple way to boost the amount of activity children are getting within their school day. So, I’m incredibly excited by the opportunity to help schools get the initiative off the ground, plus help support them as they continue to make it a regular feature of school life.”
Calum Donnelly, MSP’s strategic lead for children and young people said: “MSP are delighted to be able to support schools to get officially signed up to The Daily Mile. It’s a super-simple, but effective concept that takes 15 minutes from desk-to-desk.
“Children head outside to jog or run around the school grounds every day, rain or shine, at whatever pace suits each child best. It gets children active with their friends and teachers and refreshed for further learning.
“Any school can implement it completely free of charge and without the need for staff training. Its impact can be transformational – improving not only the children’s fitness, but also their attainment, mood, behaviour and mental wellbeing”.
