London Sport's partnership with The Daily Mile continues to flourish

Research from Youth Sport Trust for National School Sport Week has once again highlighted the task facing sporting organisations, charities and government when it comes to children’s activity levels.

Just one in four parents are aware that the Chief Medical Officer recommends 60 minutes of exercise for children every day – a level of activity only 17.5 per cent of young people are achieving.

These stark statistics demonstrate, once again, why London Sport continues to prioritise Children and Young People and ensure they have the best chance at forming an activity habit for life.

A key strand of this work lies in our ongoing partnership with The Daily Mile™ and our hosting of their National Co-ordinator Molly Adkin in our offices at House of Sport.

The Daily Mile – a London Sport Award winner in 2018 – is a simple and free initiative that gets school children moving.

It was created by a headteacher, on behalf of teachers everywhere, and encourages schools to take their students outside for 15 minutes of physical activity, every day.

Molly is the project lead for 11 co-ordinators based at various Active Partnerships around England and is responsible for promoting and supporting the growth of The Daily Mile.

She said: “It is hoped that this tool will be part of a revolution within the education and health sectors and normalise physical activity for the next generation.

“Being part of London Sport allows me to see the fantastic work being done to support children and young people be active and it’s great to have The Daily Mile as a key aspect in this work.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farah launched The Daily Mile in the capital in October last year.

There’s been a significant increase in schools signing up over the past nine months and more schools are signing up every day while the first ever Daily Mile Day will take place in London on Friday 5 July at 2pm.

Ben Cooper, Strategic Lead for The Daily Mile in London, said: “As a former teacher, I know that getting children more active can help in so many ways.

“When children exercise, they feel happier, they are fitter, and it can really help support their learning in class, not least by helping them to concentrate for longer.

“We’ve got big plans for next year - we want every school in London to sign up to do The Daily Mile and become more active. This could make a huge difference to the lives of children in London.”