Over 1,500 children in Dacorum sign up to take part in 'England Does The Daily Mile'

Hundreds of children in Dacorum will be taking part in a virtual mass participation event aimed at getting children active.

The Daily Mile is hosting its first national event day in schools and across social media, to get one million children across England to be active together at the same time on Friday, April 30.

'England does The Daily Mile' is a virtual mass participation event across all England’s primary schools.

On Friday (April 30), schools and ‘social bubbles’, up and down the country, will run their Daily Mile virtually, together in an effort to raise awareness for children’s mental health and wellbeing across the country.

There are over 1,500 children signed up in Dacorum across seven primary schools, and in Hertfordshire there are over 27,000 children signed up.

The hope is to capture the camaraderie that children have missed while schools have been closed, and give young people the chance to get involved in fun healthy activities.

'England Does the Daily Mile' is funded by Sport England through the National Lottery and supported by children’s mental health charity Place2Be

Elaine Wyllie, Founder of The Daily Mile said: “The past year has been incredibly tough on everyone, but children in particular have had to deal with a huge amount of change to their daily lives and routines.

"Getting outside and getting active is something that is hugely important for physical health and mental wellbeing. We are really excited to get one million children together in England Does The Daily Mile.”

The Daily Mile is a transformative initiative where children run, jog wheel or walk for fifteen minutes every day, in which time, most people will average a mile or more.

The initiative has enjoyed phenomenal success since it was started by then Headteacher Elaine Wyllie just eight years ago at a single primary school in Stirling. Today 3 million children worldwide are now running a mile a day.

The Daily Mile Foundation has also teamed up with mental health charity Place2Be to offer free resources to schools to support our young people’s mental health.

Catherine Roche, chief executive of children’s mental health charity Place2Be said: “Many children have just faced the most challenging year of their young lives – through Place2Be’s work supporting pupils in schools we know that some pupils have struggled with anxiety, depression, loneliness and loss in recent months.

"As pupils and staff settle back into school routines, it’s a crucial time to focus on supporting wellbeing and building up their resilience.

"It’s important to get moving! Encouraging children to take part in physical exercise is one great way to promote positive ways to look after mental wellbeing, so I’d urge all schools to join us and get involved with ‘England does the Daily Mile’.”

Schools can register for free here and will receive a fun, downloadable resource pack, as well as access to an exclusive classroom campaign, after the event.