The Daily Mile: Schools join first national day to highlight benefits of physical activity on mental health

At a time when lockdowns have had a big impact on the amount of exercise children have done, a new national day encouraging children to run or walk a mile has been welcomed by schools in the region.

Brackensdale Spencer Academy in Derby and St Cuthbert's Primary School in Stechford are just two of those involved, getting children out running on the playing field.

It's all part of a national event called The Daily Mile, aiming to get one million children across England being active together at the same time.

The organisation says it currently has over 3 million children running a daily mile across 12,000 schools in 80 countries but this is the first national event of its kind. 

John Jo-Wilson, Assistant Headteacher at St Cuthbert's Primary School in Stechford, says they have gone a step further and introduced an element of competition to the Daily Mile, to motivate pupils.

"They have a fitness tracker, so they can see how many steps they have done throughout the day."

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