As part of the European Week of Sport, Athletics Ireland in association with Dublin City Sport and Wellbeing Partnership on Tuesday (Today) hosted The Daily Mile in Action for invited parents and media at Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Inchicore.

Since launching in Scotland in 2012, The Daily Mile has grown exponentially with over 5,000 schools currently participating worldwide. Since the launch in Ireland only last April almost 300 schools have already registered for The Daily Mile. The benefits of this fun and free physical activity are numerous, improving children’s physical and mental health and wellbeing, their focus in class, and their fitness levels.

Athletics Ireland has been appointed as the hub for the promotion and development of The Daily Mile in Ireland in collaboration with Local Authorities and Sports Partnerships.

“We are delighted to be leading this wonderful Primary Schools initiative that can make a great impact on the fitness, health, and general wellbeing of school children all over Ireland, “Athletics Ireland President, Georgina Drumm said. “Athletics Ireland is fully committed to encouraging all Primary Schools to embrace The Daily Mile. “We have already seen in Primary Schools like Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal in Inchicore that the impact of The Daily Mile can be transformational – improving not only children’s fitness but also their concentration levels, mood, behavior and general well-being. “

Brendan Griffin TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport attended this exciting Primary Schools media day.

The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport is also fulsome in his enthusiasm for The Daily Mile: “The overall simplicity of “The Daily Mile” is to be admired. There is no extra cost, no extra equipment or sports kit.  This initiative is all about getting children out in to the fresh air and being active. There is no emphasis on winning or competition; it is simply about having fun.  The impact of this type of engagement can be transformational – improving not only children’s fitness but also their concentration levels, mood, behavior and general well-being. Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to Athletics Ireland, their partners, and of course the schools and teachers themselves, for their drive and commitment to the Daily Mile initiative.”

Lord Mayor of Dublin Nial Ring is encouraged by the results shown by the students and schools who already participate in The Daily Mile.

“It’s great to be here at the school (Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal) to see The Daily Mile in action, it is a brilliant initiative. It’s great for the kids to get out and do a bit of exercise. It gets them away from the screens but also motivates them and I understand from speaking to the teachers that when they come in from that they are invigorated and motivated and their concentration levels are better. There’s so much positivity coming out of it and I just think it’s a brilliant initiative and long may it continue!”

John Treacy, CEO of Sport Ireland and Olympic marathon silver medalist, said: “Sport Ireland is delighted to support The Daily Mile through the Local Sports Partnership network. This is an excellent example of collaboration between a National Governing Body for Sport and the Local Sports Partnerships at a local level and will get many children out and active, which is vitally important for their physical and mental health. Sport Ireland commends Athletics Ireland and all Local Sports Partnerships on this initiative and it’s great to see that The Daily Mile is already being embraced by so many Primary Schools nationwide.”

Anthony White, Manager of The Daily Mile Ireland is motivated in getting every Primary School in Ireland involved in the initiative. “The Daily Mile is so simple but so effective. It benefits not only children’s physical health but also their mental health. Our aim is to give every primary school child nationwide the opportunity to take part in The Daily Mile. We would like to thank Sport Ireland, Healthy Ireland and Minister Griffin for supporting our ambitious goals and objectives for the initiative.”

Schools interested in starting The Daily Mile can find out more and sign up for free at

www.thedailymile.ie

For more information on The Daily Mile contact Nick Skelly on 085 801 7738 or at [email protected]

ANDY MURRAY BACKS THE DAILY MILE CAMPAIGN TO GET CHILDREN FITTER, HEALTHIER AND HELP COMBAT CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN FOUR NEW FILMS  

• Following its inclusion in the Government’s strategy to halve childhood obesity by 2030, support for The Daily Mile continues to grow as tennis ace Andy Murray backs the initiative in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Murray is supporting projects which aim to encourage more people to start a regular habit that leads to a more active lifestyle as part of NHS70 Celebrations.
• In his first engagement as Ambassador for the NHS, Murray stars in four new films to inspire schools to sign-up to the simple initiative that aims to make children fit for life.
• Founder of The Daily Mile, Elaine Wyllie, said: “It is wonderful that Andy Murray has supported The Daily Mile Foundation through his work as an NHS ambassador. To have Andy on board highlights the positive impact The Daily Mile is having across the UK.”
• The Daily Mile is now in over 5,000 schools in 44 countries with over 1,000,000 children taking part and is growing daily.

Following high profile support from the Prime Minister, the Scottish Government and cross-party MPs, Andy Murray is the latest public figure to support the popular children’s fitness initiative, The Daily Mile. Today, The Daily Mile has released the first of four exclusive films of Murray’s visit to a school to celebrate his support of the initiative. Murray shows how schools can help pupils become fitter, healthier and combat childhood obesity by joining The Daily Mile and encourages schools everywhere to sign-up.

Murray will use his public profile across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to inspire more schools to sign up to the simple yet effective initiative, which is now in over 5,000 schools across 44 countries and has been included as a key measure in the Government’s strategy to halve childhood obesity by 2030.

The Daily Mile started life in St Ninian’s Primary School in Stirling in 2012 – close to Andy Murray’s hometown Dunblane – by former headteacher Elaine Wyllie and has become a leading initiative for improving children’s health and wellbeing in the UK. The aim of The Daily Mile is to improve the physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing of  children – regardless of age, ability, or personal circumstances.

In May, research findings from the Universities of Stirling and Edinburgh urged policymakers to consider introducing The Daily Mile to improve the health and fitness of schoolchildren around the world. It confirmed that the initiative boosts activity levels in class and improves fitness and body composition.

Murray said:

“The Daily Mile is a great initiative because it’s a really simple step which can have a direct impact on children’s physical and mental well-being. I participated in The Daily Mile with a group of school children and even in that short time, I could see the positive benefits it was having in so many ways – social aspects, the chance for everyone to participate and a bit of fresh air during the day. I hope more schools sign up as I really believe it can make a difference.”

Elaine Wyllie, Founder of The Daily Mile, said:

“It is wonderful that Andy Murray has chosen to support The Daily Mile Foundation. To have Andy on board highlights the positive impact The Daily Mile is having across the UK.  He is a fantastic sporting role model for the children of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. We are confident that this will inspire more schools across the UK to sign-up to The Daily Mile and experience the transformational health and well-being benefits that The Daily Mile provides.”

Gregor Smith, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Scotland said:

“We are very clear that we want Scotland to be the world’s first Daily Mile nation and for physical activity to be a normal part of our children’s lifestyles. Over the past few years we have made real progress in increasing the number of children being physically active. This is driven in part by the increasing popularity of recreational activity, and the Daily Mile is an important part of that. We know that one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental health is to be active, and the beauty of the Daily Mile is that a 15-minute run, jog or walk each day is simple, free and fun to do.”

 Frank Atherton, Chief Medical Officer for Wales, said:

“I’m delighted that Andy Murray has joined The Daily Mile as an ambassador where, as an international sporting star and role model, he will inspire children to improve their health and well-being. It’s an easy and fun way for primary-aged children to run,  or jog for 15 minutes each day in school. The Daily Mile needs no equipment and is an inclusive, simple and free way for children to get their recommended amount of physical activity each day.”

Dr Michael McBride, Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, said:

“It is crucial that we introduce good lifestyle choices, like participating in active play, physical recreation and sport, to our children at an early stage in their development as these will contribute to long term health benefits into adulthood, and in many ways improve their quality of life.

The school setting provides the perfect environment for an initiative like The Daily Mile as all pupils can participate in some way with their classmates and friends. Having an Ambassador like Andy Murray will inspire both children and their friends and families to get involved and I would encourage everyone to join in and take part in this nationwide activity.

His support of this initiative, and the interest it will generate, I hope, will extend far beyond The Daily Mile and do much to nurture healthy lifestyle habits and encourage others to try some physical activity which we know can also help improve or create more positive self-esteem. Perhaps most importantly however I have no doubt that taking part in The Daily Mile will also be a lot of fun.”

ENDS. 

Source: BBC World Service, Radio

Reporters: Shabnam Grewal and Dougal Shaw

Tune in from 01.18 – 10.29 to hear about The Daily Mile

“This week we go back to school, with two simple ideas that involve changing the day-to-day lives of pupils to improve their physical and mental wellbeing. The Daily Mile is an idea developed in a Scottish school by an enterprising teacher, which is now being adopted worldwide. It gets pupils to run a mile at a surprise moment during the school day, to break up their learning and burn some calories.”

Read More

The Prime Minister Theresa May has today awarded Elaine Wyllie, the Founder of The Daily Mile, the Points of Light award, which recognises innovative and inspirational volunteering. Each day the Prime Minister selects a volunteer who’s making a change in their community with the award to celebrate their achievements. Elaine is the latest recipient of the award for promoting physical and mental health and well-being with The Daily Mile.

The Daily Mile is a fun, free and simple initiative where children run or jog, at their own pace, for fifteen minutes every day. Elaine started the fitness initiative 6 years ago while the headteacher of St Ninians Primary School in Stirling. From this single school the campaign has spread across the UK and internationally and is now a fixture of the school day in over 5,000 schools in 44 countries.

In 2015 Elaine won the Pride of Britain Teacher of the Year Award for her contribution towards the success of the programme in Scotland. Since then Elaine has been a driving force of the programme’s increasing popularity. Within this time Elaine has addressed schools and head teachers across the country, appeared in 2 national TV ad campaigns and attended Daily Mile activity at schools across the globe to illustrate the transformational health and wellbeing benefits of The Daily Mile and its ability to provide a serious solution to childhood obesity.

In a personal letter to Elaine, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

“Your innovative initiative is getting school children across the world moving more. The Daily Mile is having a tremendous impact in helping young people make the small changes needed to start healthy habits that will last for a lifetime.”

Stephen Kerr, MP for Stirling, said:

“This award is thoroughly well deserved. The idea of the ‘Daily Mile’ conceived by Elaine at her school in Stirling has been taken up by a huge number of schools around the world. Elaine should be extremely proud of the impact this initiative has had, and will continue to have, on so many young lives.”

 Elaine said:

“To receive this award from the Prime Minister is a wonderful honour. I would like to thank everyone at INEOS, our team at the ‘The Daily Mile Foundation’ and all of our supporters for their hard-work in making this initiative a success over the last few years. Most importantly, this would not be possible without the dedication and passion of school and nursery staff across the country who implement ‘The Daily Mile’ and improve the lives of the children in their care every day.”

ENDS.