News

30/09/2021 00:00, In Blog / School News /

Olympian Joe Brier and European U23 Champion Jeremiah Azu were among the athletes to join pupils at Coed Glas primary school this morning for their Daily Mile.

Along with the other home nations and UK Athletics, Welsh Athletics have become official partners of The Daily Mile and are keen to inspire both young people and teachers across Wales to get involved and become a part of The Daily Mile community. The partnership emphasises a shared commitment from the organisations across the UK, helping to demonstrate the importance that physical activity plays in the physical and mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Pupils at the school have been regularly doing The Daily Mile for years and the school and teachers really see the benefits in terms of the readiness to learn and health of the pupils.

Headteacher, Kevin Hart, says:

“The mental and physical wellbeing of our pupils is central to our school vision, children and staff and taking part in The Daily Mile provides a great way of supporting this – its simple, fun and is now a regular fixture in the life of Coed Glas”

We have set ourselves the ambitious target of getting 100% of schools in Wales to provide opportunities for children to be active through athletics and running – being active daily and developing the fundamental movement skills of running, jumping and throwing are key to ensuring all children develop into physically and mentally healthy and resilient adults - and we are determined to play our part in ensuring this is the case for current and future generations in Wales.”

Inclusivity and accessibility has always been at the heart of The Daily Mile – getting young people involved regardless of ability. The Daily Mile and Welsh Athletics are committed to supporting schools and teachers in providing opportunities for children with a disability to participate, so ensure they’re able to enjoy all of the benefits of physical activity. The focus is always on the child’s ability, and appropriate adjustments or modifications can be made to ensure a positive experience.

Pupils were also given a taster of the Starting Blocs physical literacy programme which provides an introduction to athletics for 4 - 9 year olds helped along by Welsh Heptathlete, Grace Morgan.  The programme gives children an opportunity to learn and develope the key movement skills needed for a life in sport, in a safe and positive environment, through games that are designed to teach children the foundations of running, jumping, and throwing.

"It's great to see the children having fun and trying out athletics - being able to run, jump and throw is so important for many sports not just athletics. I'd love to see more children in Wales grow up loving our sport and carrying on competing across a range of athletics events as they develop."

said Under 20 Heptathlete, Grace

Wider support comes from John Bradley, Principal Public Health Practitioner at Public Health Wales who has commented:

‘Public Health Wales welcomes any action that seeks to increase the amount of time children and young people are active during the school day.  Achieving change will require the engagement and support of a wide range of agencies and organisations and the contribution of Welsh Athletics is a welcome addition.’

The Daily Mile and Welsh Athletics are also delighted to have the support of Brian Davies, Chief Executive of Sport Wales,

“Providing lots of opportunities for all children to regularly be active is more important now than ever in supporting health and overall wellbeing. This partnership is another example of the determination of Welsh Athletics to contribute to an active nation. Initiatives such as the Daily Mile, which look to provide simple, easily accessible and inclusive opportunities, in a fun setting can play a big part in helping to build physical activity into daily habit.”