Fact File

Where we’re based: Llandudno, Wales

Roll: 240

Our Daily Mile Story

At Ysgol Y Gogarth we’ve been participating in The Daily Mile since the beginning of June 2021. Its introduction was widely received by so many of our pupils and the positive impact it has already had on them is clear for all to see. Our half mile route takes us out of the main reception and follows the footpaths at the front of the school, around the astro turf football pitch, past our vocational workspace and into the sensory garden.

We have amazing staff at our school who were prepared to fit The Daily Mile into their already busy timetables. This meant that a large number of different classes, of all ages and ability levels, were regularly seen walking, running and wheeling their Daily Mile.

The most significant impact that the Daily Mile has had on our pupils is the smiles on faces we as staff are regularly seeing. These happy faces are going back into the classroom feeling energized to complete their work for the remainder of the school day. We have also seen examples of pupils using the mile as a way of “blowing off some steam” and feeling more relaxed by the time they return to class. Seeing our pupils out and about with their classmates, chatting and laughing as they are exercising is showing us the positive impact The Daily Mile is having on their social and communication skills.

As a school we aim to give all our pupils opportunities to get out of the classroom and into the fresh air as often as possible, in order to increase their fitness levels. Our ethos is that the more physical literacy opportunities our pupils are exposed to at school, the more likely they are to be inspired to lifelong involvement in sport. With The Daily Mile seen by many classes as a bonus P.E session we are making progress with this objective.

Dosbarth Alaw: Some of the pupils in Dosbarth Alaw use walking systems and have been able to participate alongside their able bodied peers in this walking challenge. Other class members have participated using their wheel chairs. This has been an inclusive activity for all pupils at Ysgol Y Gogarth to take part in.

Dosbarth Yr Wyddfa: In Dosbarth Yr Wyddfa the staff can sometimes find it difficult to motivate their pupils to participate in regular P.E sessions (football, badminton etc) as once they are within the boundaries of the sports hall they use it as an opportunity to relax. The introduction of the Daily Mile has seen their pupils thrive and regularly take part in not only the Daily Mile but on walks outside the school grounds, to the beach and to the park.

As a school we work hard to promote a healthy lifestyle and do so by offering as many wellbeing sessions to our pupils as possible. The Daily Mile gives us an extra opportunity to promote one of our mottos: Healthy Body, Healthy Mind.

We have set an objective for next year to host a community based sponsored walk, focusing on our Daily Mile route and our amazing local area. This would be a great opportunity for us to work with our parents and families, in order to increase the likelihood of our pupils engaging in physical activity for the rest of their lives.

Quotes from staff, parents and pupils

“The best part of my day is walking out of the school doors and seeing all the happy faces making their way around our Daily Mile route. The smiles would brighten anyone’s day!” Mr Aaron Jones

“Going out for a walk is the most important part of the school day for some of our pupils. The benefits are amazing: their fitness improves, their muscles loosen, their appetite improves and most importantly they enjoy it.” Mr Glyn Jones

“Beautiful big smiles! They look like they’re having a lovely time.” Parent

“The Daily Mile makes me happy, seeing other pupils following in my footsteps makes me proud.” KS5 pupil who helped organize the Daily Mile route

Fact File

Where we’re based: Hertfordshire, England

Roll: 420

Our Daily Mile Story

We have been participating in The Daily Mile for the past 2 years. We discovered the initiative through social media and conversations with other local schools and decided to introduce it in our school at the start of that particular academic year. We have been taking part ever since!

Each class teacher decides where and when they do their Daily Mile in school. If it is dry we make use of the field and if the weather is wetter the classes tend to run around the playground – our EYFS and Year 1 classes also take advantage of a running track that is marked on their playground area.

The two main barriers we found when we began The Daily Mile were time restraints and finding a way to engage children that perhaps don’t have a natural enthusiasm for sport or physical activity. As time has progressed our staff have found a variety of ways to manage where and when they take their children out for The Daily Mile and have been very encouraging with children who perhaps don’t engage as much in physical activity. Setting small achievable targets in terms of laps or number of minutes we can run for has really helped.

Not only has The Daily Mile improved the fitness, stamina and general wellbeing of our children, I think teachers value it as an opportunity to take a short break from learning and sitting in the classroom. This gives children the chance to perhaps burn off some excess energy and remove that restless feeling that can occur sometimes. The opportunity to let the children run in the fresh air so they are re-energised and know that they have had that ‘brain boost’ when they return to class is something that works very well in our school. The introduction of The Daily Mile Destinations has been a very timely during a very strange period for all of us. We certainly weren’t sure how much our children had engaged in physical activity during lockdown and for us to be able to almost relaunch The Daily Mile in school, it now feels like there is a great enthusiasm for children wanting to take part in their Daily Mile run.

We decided to use this opportunity with The Daily Mile Destinations being launched to find a way that we could engage every single class in the school. We are a two-form entry school so that’s 14 classes in total. We decided that a display in our gallery would be the one place that all the children will pass through during the day. Every class has a class passport around the central poster and they attach a flag to it every time they pass a country. We have also made each class a marker so they can visually see their progress and how they are doing in comparison to other classes. It has opened conversations about teamwork, respect and resilience. The children are now frequently asking their teachers “when are we going to do the daily mile?”.

Our site manager Mr.McAdam has been inspired to join in and have his own marker! He decided that being as he is walking around school from 6am – 6pm that he would start tracking his steps and converting it into miles so that he can see how far he can travel around the world too.