A scheme which strives to get children walking or running a mile a day should be replicated in all schools, it has been claimed.
Rosslyn School in Kirkcaldy, which caters for children and young adults with complex additional support needs, has been one of the latest to embrace the concept of the Daily Mile, and it is hoped that schools across the country will follow in its footsteps.
The project was started at St Ninian’s Primary in Stirling under the guidance of former head teacher Elaine Wyllie, from Burntisland, amid fears that children lacked stamina to get through the school day.
Extolling its virtues is Rosslyn class teacher Marie Gibbs, who believes the programme is paying dividends for pupils and staff.
Staff initially used exercise to try to calm the pupils down. However, the programme has evolved in recent months.
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She said: “We had spoken to parents who were finding it really difficult to take their kids out for a walk anywhere because of certain behaviours, so we decided that’s what we would do.
“We started with a short walk to the baker’s and back, and then we eventually decided we would make it every morning.
“We go out in all weathers so the pupils can decide what to wear, and we don’t stick to the same route because that feeds into their thinking process,” she said.
“We want them to be confident enough to walk anywhere, and on a Friday we go to the woods because that’s all about exploring an environment where they have a lot of freedom.
“So there have been lots of benefits exercise in a calming session, a bit of road safety awareness and teaching the importance of waiting so, all in all, it’s been a good process.
“The pupils are much more focused and much calmer.”
The replacement school being built in Kirkcaldy East will also have a Daily Mile marked out in the school grounds.
Local councillors also backed the Daily Mile’s rollout.
Marie Penman said: “I genuinely believe it should be compulsory in every school in Scotland.
“It’s all about attainment, it’s all about achievement, but it’s so much more than that at the end of the day.
“In the school it started in Stirling, after a year they don’t have a single incidence of overweight children in the school, which is nothing short of a miracle.
“The norm is to sit in and play a PlayStation and Xbox but, as my granny used to say: ‘they are not made of sugar, they will not melt’.
“Rain will not hurt them, so get the pupils outside.”