Lofty the Lion celebrates the launch of ‘The Daily Mile’ in Bolton primary school
Source: NHS Bridgewater Community Healthcare
Date: 02-February-2018
Bolton Wanderers’ mascot Lofty the Lion visited Moorgate Primary School on Wednesday 24th January to join teachers, pupils and Bolton’s Family Healthy Lifestyles Team to launch ‘The Daily Mile’ initiative at the school.
The Daily Mile is a free and simple physical activity which encourages children to run or jog outside for 15 minutes every day in their nursery or primary school, which benefits their fitness, attainment and, wider health and wellbeing.
Bolton’s Healthy Lifestyles Team is supporting the initiative at Moorgate Primary School and is encouraging other schools across the town to take up The Daily Mile to get fit for life and fit for learning.
Gemma Holdsworth, Family Healthy Lifestyles Coach in the team, which is run by Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We are delighted to be supporting Moorgate Primary School to improve the health and wellbeing of their pupils and families. Currently 79% of boys and 84% of girls aged 5-15 years are not meeting national physical activity guidelines of a minimum of 60 active minutes per day, of which 30 minutes should be provided by school. The Daily Mile helps schools not only achieve this target but it also provides fantastic benefits for both pupils and teachers.”
“It takes just 15 minutes out of the school day and can improve children’s focus, self-confidence, fitness and mental wellbeing. We want more schools to follow Moorgate and participate.”
Moorgate Primary School Headteacher Debbie Hopwood said:
“We are happy to be one of the first schools in the local area to embrace the benefits, both physically and mentally of The Daily Mile.”
Acting Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Linda Thomas, also added:
“The Daily Mile is a simple but effective way of getting children involved in some form of physical activity. Not only does it encourage them to be active, it also helps to set them up for a day of learning and is good fun!”
The Daily Mile is just one of the initiatives being promoted by The Family Healthy Lifestyles Team in Bolton.
The team supports local schools to implement effective and tailored healthy lifestyle initiatives that are suited to the needs of local children.
The needs of each school are identified through the school’s health profile which uses up to date information and data to build a realistic picture of the health of the school community.
To make the initiatives as successful as possible, The Family Healthy Lifestyles Team has an ongoing partnership with Bolton Wanderers Community Trust to help motivate and inspire local children on their journey to becoming healthier.
Katie Wells from Bolton Wanderers Community Trust explains:
“Partnership work helps to contribute towards the aims of our Premier League Primary Stars programme and helps children to reach their goals and realise their potential. We are delighted to be working with Bolton’s Family Healthy Lifestyles Team to provide school assemblies that encourage the younger generation to get active. The joint approach is allowing us to instil healthy habits at an early stage, creating a healthier future for the people of Bolton. We are looking forward to the upcoming work with the team.”
Find out more about the excellent work of Bolton’s Healthy Lifestyles Team at www.bridgewater.nhs.uk/bolton/childrens-healthy-weight-team.
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