Sociodemographic profiles, educational attainment and physical activity associated with The Daily Mile™ registration in primary schools in England: a national cross-sectional linkage study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine primary school and local authority characteristics associated with registration for The Daily Mile (TDM), an active mile initiative aimed at increasing physical activity in children.DesignA cross-sectional linkage study using routinely collected data.SettingAll state-funded primary schools in England from 2012 to 2018 (n=15,815).Results3,502 of all 15,815 (22.1%) state-funded primary schools in England were registered to do TDM, ranging from 16% in the East Midlands region to 31% in Inner London. Primary schools registered for TDM had larger mean pupil numbers compared with schools that had not registered (300 vs 269, respectively). There was a higher proportion of TDM-registered schools in urban areas compared with non-urban areas. There was local authority variation in the likelihood of school registration (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.094). After adjusting for school and local authority characteristics, schools located in a major urban conurbation (OR 1.46 (95% CI 1.24 to 1.71) urban vs rural) and schools with a higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils had higher odds of being registered for TDM (OR 1.16 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.33)). Area-based physical activity and schools’ educational attainment were not significantly associated with registration to TDM.ConclusionOne in five primary schools in England has registered for TDM since 2012. TDM appears to be a wide-reaching school-based physical activity intervention that is reaching more disadvantaged primary school populations in urban areas where obesity prevalence is highest. TDM-registered schools include those with both high and low educational attainment and are in areas with high and low physical activity.

Impact of The Daily Mile on children’s physical and mental health, and educational attainment in primary schools: iMprOVE cohort study protocol

“…To identify which schools to assign to the intervention and control groups at baseline, we will send a school survey by post (including a link to the online version) with a freepost return envelope to all state-funded primary schools in Greater London (n=1721) derived from our database of primary schools in England. 11 Any teacher who is best placed to answer questions about their school’s involvement with TDM can complete the survey. Schools that do not respond will be contacted by email 2 weeks after initial contact with a further email 1 week later.…”

“…Based on our previous work, there is an average of 46 children per state-funded primary school in Greater London. 11 …”

“… 8 9 The Daily Mile (TDM) is a school-based active mile initiative that was launched in 2012 by a head teacher in Scotland, UK, who wanted to increase the fitness of her pupils. 10 Since 2012, one in five schools in England are now registered with TDM 11 and it has a growing global adoption. 12 TDM is a teacher-led, free and simple initiative that involves children running or jogging for 15 min (‘a mile’) at least three times a week, in addition to national curriculum physical education (PE) and scheduled break times.…”

“…Up to August 2019, 22% of all state-funded primary schools in England were registered, reaching a population of just over 963 000 children. 11 The evolving evidence base of the benefits of TDM on physical activity is promising; a study by Chesham et al 15 showed an increase in children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) by approximately 9 min, 15 and a study by Morris et al 16 demonstrated that during one active mile lesson, children accumulated between 5 and 15 min of MVPA. While there are acute assessments suggesting that children accumulate around an average of 10 min of MVPA during TDM, there is limited evidence of its impact on children’s mental health 17 18 and inconsistencies on benefits to academic performance.…”

“…8 9 The Daily Mile (TDM) is a school-based active mile initiative that was launched in 2012 by a head teacher in Scotland, UK, who wanted to increase the fitness of her pupils. 10 Since 2012, one in five schools in England are now registered with TDM 11 and it has a growing…”