Monday 18th September 2017

LCPS Daily Mile!

Dear Parents and Carers,

You will probably be aware of recent concerns around physical inactivity in childhood. As they go through Primary school, many children can become less active, resulting in a lack of energy and concentration in class.

In order to encourage children to participate in physical activity every day, we will be taking part in an initiative called The Daily Mile. The aim for this initiative is to increase fitness and wellbeing of all children and support the recommended hour that children should spend taking daily exercise.

The Daily Mile is very simple to start in a school. Without wasting time to change into kit, every child in school goes out each day in the fresh air to run, jog or walk for 15 minutes. It is not competitive: most children will average a mile in that time, with some doing more and some doing less. It is not PE, sport or cross-country but a physical activity which is aimed at improving the children's physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing. It can help children to focus and concentrate in the classroom and raise their attainment.

Since 2015, The Daily Mile has been adopted by over 1,600 schools in the UK alone, proving extraordinarily popular with thousands of children, parents and teachers. The initiative is also attracting strong overseas interest, with both Belgium and the Netherlands launching nationally in 2016. Cambridgeshire Schools are being encouraged to sign up and join in too.

We would like to introduce The Daily Mile for all the children in Littleport Community Primary School and ensure its health and wellbeing benefits are available for everyone. Our children will take part in the Daily Mile at least 3 times a week, jogging or walking with the adults in their classes and the only things they will need will be their trainers and a spare pair of socks (in case of wet feet). Children will not be forced to run, however, we want to encourage children to improve their fitness over time so that they can see and understand how exercise can make a difference to their lives.

As a school we are really excited about this new initiative and we are looking forward to the benefits it will bring to your child/children. To find out more about how it all works please visit: www.thedailymile.co.uk.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Cameron

P.E Leader