The Daily Mile in practice: implementation and adaptation of the school running programme in a multiethnic city in the UK

Comparing the impact of "The Daily Mile™" vs. a modified version on Irish primary school children's engagement and enjoyment in structured physical activity

Introduction

The repetitive nature of The Daily Mile may affect long-term engagement. This study compared the impact of The Daily Mile with a modified version on engagement and enjoyment of structured physical activity.

Methods

A ∼7-year-old and ∼11-year old cohort from six primary schools participated in this study, which primarily evaluated pre- to post-assessment changes within each group. Two schools were assigned to The Daily Mile (n = 102 children; M = 8.81 years, SD = 1.97), two schools to the modified version (n = 87; M = 9.16 years, SD = 2.76), and two schools served as controls (n = 79; M = 10.05 years, SD = 1.9) for 10-weeks. Health assessments conducted included cardiorespiratory fitness (550 m Run), fundamental movement skills (Test of Gross Motor Development-2), and health-related quality of life (KIDSCREEN-27). Accelerometers measured school-based physical activity, while enjoyment was assessed using a modified PACES questionnaire. Post-intervention focus groups (n = 10) included teachers and children.

Results

Both the Daily Mile (∼7-year-old: p < 0.001; ∼11-year-old: p = 0.004) and its modified version (∼7-year-old: p < 0.001; ∼11-year-old: p < 0.001) had a significant impact on cardiorespiratory fitness. Participation in the modified version led to significant improvements in fundamental movement skills (∼7-year-old: p = 0.034; ∼11-year-old: p < 0.001), unlike participation in The Daily Mile (∼7-year-old: p = 1.000; ∼11-year-old: p = 0.807). A significant positive effect on health-related quality of life was attributed to participation in the modified version (p = 0.036), but not to The Daily Mile (p = 0.205). Enjoyment scores were significantly higher for the modified version (4.61 vs. 4.43; p = 0.024).

Discussion

Participation in The Daily Mile is associated with improved health outcomes. Nevertheless, modifying the initiative to include greater variety has the potential to offer broader health benefits, longer engagement, and increased enjoyment. Future research should explore the long-term implementation of this modified version in schools.

Evaluating the Perceived Health-Related Effectiveness of 'The Daily Mile' Initiative in Irish Primary Schools

Many Irish primary school children do not meet recommended physical activity (PA) guidelines. The Daily Mile (TDM) is a primary school initiative designed to increase children's PA output. This study evaluates TDM's perceived effect on Irish primary school children's health-related metrics. A mixed-methods study, comprising two data collection phases, used the RE-AIM framework to evaluate TDM. Phase One involved teachers, principals and classroom assistants (n = 191) from TDM-registered schools completing a questionnaire. Two TDM-registered schools participated in Phase Two, where (i) interviews were conducted with each principal, (ii) a teacher sub-sample (n = 4) participated in a focus group, and (iii) a child sub-sample (n = 14) participated in separate focus groups. TDM was perceived to positively impact the markers of children's health, including their PA behaviour, physical fitness and social well-being. Inclement weather (66.5%) and a lack of time (56.5%) were reported as the top-ranked implementation barriers. Moreover, TDM's repetitive nature often left children feeling disinterested and resulted in some teachers modifying the initiative to maintain engagement levels. Maintaining the long-term implementation of TDM and its health benefits in primary schools may require bespoke amendments to the original format to preserve children's engagement.

Predicting school uptake of The Daily Mile in Northern Ireland- a data linkage study with School Census Data and Multiple Deprivation Measures

BACKGROUND

Participating in physical activity benefits health, yet a majority of children remain inactive. The Daily Mile™ (TDM) originated in Scotland in 2012 with the aim of increasing primary school children's physical fitness. Despite being a practically feasible and popular initiative, it remains unclear the extent to which schools implement TDM, and whether TDM core principles are adhered to (i.e., run or jog at least 3-days per week). In Northern Ireland it is unknown how many schools regularly participate in TDM, and whether there is an association between TDM participation with school type, school location, size, total number of children attending the school, school deprivation level, and/or motivation as measured by the COM-B model (Capabilities, Opportunities, Motivation model of behaviour). Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the uptake of TDM in Northern Ireland, assess whether schools are following the core principles, and analyse if there is an association between aforesaid demographic factors and TDM participation.

METHODS

An online cross-sectional survey was sent to all primary and special education schools in Northern Ireland with the support of the Education Authority for Northern Ireland and the Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland. The survey was completed by the school principal or teacher, and was available from 31st August until 16th December 2022. Survey results were linked with the 2021/2022 Northern Ireland School Census Data and Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017. Quantitative and qualitative questions were included in the survey to assess participation and implementation of TDM.

RESULTS

The survey received 609 school responses. After data cleaning, and removal of duplicates from schools a sample of 358 primary schools (45%) and 19 special education schools (47.5%) was analysed. Over half (54.7%) of primary schools and 36.8% of special education schools reported taking part in TDM. More special education needs schools reported taking part in their own version of an 'active mile' rather than TDM formally, and qualitative findings showed TDM was not perceived as appropriate for many children in special educational settings. There was wide variation in adherence to TDM core principles. A multivariate binary logistic regression model was fitted to the data, but it was not statistically significant (χ2(17) = 22.689, p = .160). However, univariate effects showed that increasing levels on COM-B (Capability) was associated with increased likelihood of TDM participation (OR = 2.506), and Catholic Maintained schools were almost twice as likely as Controlled schools to be delivering TDM (OR = 1.919). There was no association found between deprivation and TDM uptake.

CONCLUSION

Encouragingly over 50% of schools in Northern Ireland reported taking part in TDM. However, despite being a low-cost and practically feasible physical activity initiative, further intervention work with sound research methodology is needed to promote adherence to TDM core principles to maximise benefits to children's health. Furthermore, concerted efforts are required to adjust TDM so that it is inclusive for all educational settings, and children's abilities.

Real-world application of a scalable school-based physical activity intervention: A cross-sectional survey of the implementation of The Daily Mile in Greater London primary schools

School-based physical activity interventions are considered ideal given their potential to reach most children. They can help children achieve the recommended guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day. The Daily Mile is a popular school-based active mile intervention with a global reach. It recommends ten core principles for successful implementation, three of which are key for effectiveness: that it is quick (15 minutes), the whole school participates, and that it takes place in the school day during lessons (excluding physical education lessons and scheduled breaks). Studies assessing the impacts of The Daily Mile do not often report implementation of the ten core principles which is crucial to identifying the potential impact and feasibility of scalable interventions in real-world settings. Our aim was to assess adherence to The Daily Mile's ten core principles in Greater London primary schools. We created and distributed a survey to 1717 primary schools during September 2020 and achieved a 21% (n = 369/1717) response rate by September 2021. Our sample was representative of Greater London primary schools with responses from every London borough. A total of 196/369 (53%) schools reported implementing The Daily Mile but none of them reported adherence to all ten core principles. Adherence to at least 6/10 principles in various combinations was reported by 54/196 (28%) schools. Only 19/196 (10%) schools that reported implementing The Daily Mile reported adherence to the three key principles recommended for effectiveness. Despite its popularity and global reach, our findings suggest that an implementation gap exists when The Daily Mile is adopted in real-world settings which is likely to challenge its intended purpose. Further research in school settings is needed to understand factors that can improve adherence to increase the potential public health impact of The Daily Mile and other similar interventions.

A Systematic Review of the Implementation and Effectiveness of 'The Daily Mile' on Markers of Children's Health

Currently, a high percentage of children globally fail to meet the World Health Organisation's (WHO) recommended daily physical activity (PA) guidelines. The Daily Mile (TDM) is a school-based PA initiative, designed to improve primary school children's PA behaviour. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the extant TDM implementation process and identify its impact on health-related metrics. Three databases were used to search for articles from the time TDM originated in 2012 until February 2022. The identification and screening process of articles for their ability to meet this review's eligibility criteria were facilitated by use of PRISMA and Rayyan. Sixteen articles from the initial search (n = 202) were deemed eligible for inclusion. An analysis of these articles identified five common outcome categories that permeated throughout the research articles: (1) cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF); (2) anthropometry and body composition; (3) PA; (4) cognition; and (5) process evaluation. Results presented from the included articles suggests TDM positively impacts markers of a variety of health-related metrics, namely CRF and PA. However, implementation barriers including TDM's repetitive nature, time constraints associated with competing curriculum demands and inadequate facilities regularly necessitate the adaptation and development of the original TDM format by schools and teachers.

A systematic review of the effect of The Daily Mile™ on children's physical activity, physical health, mental health, wellbeing, academic performance and cognitive function

BACKGROUND

A minority of children in the United Kingdom meet the recommended physical activity guidelines. One initiative which has been introduced to try and increase the physical activity levels of school children is The Daily Mile™ (TDM). The aim of this review was to determine the effect of TDM on children's physical activity levels, physical health, mental health, wellbeing, academic performance and cognitive function.

METHODS

Six databases were systematically searched from TDM's inception (2012) to 30th June 2022. Studies were included if they involved school-aged children (aged 4-12 years), taking part in TDM and measured at least one pre-defined outcome.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies were included from the 123 studies retrieved. Longer-term participation in TDM was found to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and physical fitness. None of the studies reported a significant change in Body Mass Index or academic performance. An acute bout of TDM was not found to improve cognitive function, however one good-quality study reported that longer-term participation in TDM increased visual spatial working memory. There was evidence from one fair-quality design study that TDM can improve mental health in the short term. There were no significant effects on wellbeing, however scores on self-perceptions improved mainly for children with low baseline self-perceptions.

CONCLUSION

There is evidence to show that TDM can increase physical activity and physical fitness. However, higher-quality research, with adequate participant randomisation and longer-term, post-intervention follow-up is needed to ensure that any changes accurately reflect the components of TDM and are sustained beyond an intervention time frame. Policy recommendations of TDM increasing PA levels in the short term are supported by the evidence in this review. However, long-term improvement on mental health, wellbeing, academic performance and cognitive function requires further good-to excellent quality research. Promisingly, several protocol articles that include randomised controlled trials with long term follow-up have been published. These higher-quality design studies may provide a stronger evidence-base on the effects of TDM on children's health and should underpin future recommendations in public health policy.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42022340303.