Stokes Wood Primary School
“When initially setting it up we had several barriers to overcome”
Stokes Wood Primary School
Fact File
Where we’re based: New Parks, Leicester, England
School Roll: 480 pupils
How long we’ve been doing The Daily Mile: We’re in our 3rd year!
Our Daily Mile Story
We are now taking part in The Daily Mile for the third successive year. Pupils run round the school field when it is dry enough and round the playground and round the school pathways when the field is too wet. We are hoping to purchase an all-weather track for The Daily Mile using funding from the sugar tax.
When initially setting up The Daily Mile we had several barriers to overcome:
- Taking time from the curriculum
- Collecting data
- Supervision
After discussions with staff and pupils and making changes over the 3 years to enable all the school to take part, the pupils run The Daily Mile at various times so that pupils and staff can run freely and be safely supervised.
We collect data for the house competition. A child from each house collects the number of laps completed for each class and there is a weekly competition for The Daily Mile trophy and laps go towards an annual competition. The PE teacher records cumulative totals of how many miles the whole school has run since starting the initiative.
There are numerous benefits for pupils and staff. Pupils enjoy it, they compete against each other and themselves, they gain a sense of achievement, it raises their self-esteem, it increases their fitness and teams and individuals have performed better in inter-school competitions.
All our children have benefitted, without exception. The Daily Mile is totally inclusive. It has introduced some of our inactive children to activity and physical exertions past previous experienced levels. It has raised their heart and breathing rate and they have experienced muscle fatigue. Lower ability pupils, including those with SEND, run and can complete as many, or more, laps than peers who fair better than them in class.
Increased self-esteem and raising of confidence has a knock on effect in other more academic activities at school. Staff join in, including the Head Teacher. This builds relationships and provides role models. Some staff power walk, some jog/walk and others run and challenge the children to keep up, run faster and challenge themselves to do better.
Stokes Wood pupils have promoted The Daily Mile on Central TV and on Radio Leicester. The Head Teacher, Jane Gadsby, is an advocate for The Daily Mile and promotes it to her colleagues in Leicester City Primary Schools. Warrick Laverick, the PE teacher promotes it amongst his colleagues in other schools in Leicester and Leicestershire.
In a recent Leicester City Celebration of The Daily Mile at the King Power Stadium, a group of pupils met the founder of The Daily Mile, Elaine Wyllie.
Quotes
“The Daily Mile helps children to eat and sleep better”
“I am really pleased that my child is encourage to run The Daily Mile every day.”
“Coaches at the local football team have noticed the increase in the fitness of the boys on their team”
– Parents
“It’s good fun and I feel fitter”
“We work hard as a class to stay at the top of the table and win the trophy.”
“It makes us feel ready to work in the afternoon.”
– Children
“We have had our best results yet in the 5k challenge and cross country events.”
Mr Laverick, PE teacher
