The Daily Mile: teachers’ perspectives of the barriers and facilitators to the delivery of a school-based physical activity intervention

Abstract

ObjectivesChildren spend a significant amount of their time in a school environment, often engaged in sedentary activities. The Daily Mile is a physical activity intervention which aims to increase physical activity and fitness in children through the completion of an outdoor teacher-led walk or run during the school day. This study aimed to explore the barriers, facilitators and perceived benefits of the Daily Mile from the perspectives of teachers through the use of qualitative semi-structured interviews. It also aimed to identify important context-specific factors, which might require consideration for those who intend to adopt the Daily Mile.SettingEight Local Authority primary schools in the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian, UK.ParticipantsThirteen teachers (eleven women) who teach children in primaries one to seven in a school which delivered the Daily Mile.ResultsData were analysed using an interpretative thematic analysis. Teachers were positive and enthusiastic about the Daily Mile and perceived it to be beneficial to children’s health and fitness. A number of barriers to participation were identified including inadequate all-weather running surfaces and time constraints in an already full school curriculum. The perceived impact on learning time was identified as a concern for teachers, while other benefits were also identified including increased teacher–child rapport and perceived enhanced classroom concentration levels.ConclusionThe Daily Mile appears to be a valuable addition to the school day, however important context-specific barriers to delivery of the Daily Mile exist, which should be considered when implementing the Daily Mile in schools.

The Daily Mile: Whole-school recommendations for implementation and sustainability. A mixed-methods study

“…Headteachers, teachers and pupils discussed a range of factors associated with implementation in relation to the experience and engagement with TDM. These barriers and facilitators to effective implementation identified by participants are consistent with recent research into school-based running programmes [30,33]. Implementation in this study, as captured through interviews and focus groups varied widely amongst schools and is reflected in the contrasting themes that emerged from the data.…”

“…In order to explore participants' experiences of TDM, it is important to consider the barriers, facilitators and factors affecting sustainability. These factors are consistently included in other research evaluating school-based interventions, and therefore framed the topics guides for this study [33]. The use of semi-structured topic guides facilitated a deeper exploration of subjects and allowed topics to form naturally during the interview process [41].…”

“…Two recent qualitative studies exploring the implementation processes and participants' experiences of TDM identified a number of factors associated with intervention success [32,33]. These included a need for simple core intervention components, flexible delivery encouraging teacher autonomy and intervention adaptability.…”

“…These included a need for simple core intervention components, flexible delivery encouraging teacher autonomy and intervention adaptability. Benefits cited by teachers included improved teacher-pupil relationships and the positive impact on pupils' health, wellbeing and fitness [33]. In contrast, a number of barriers were identified such as weather, resources and the perceived impact on learning time.…”

The Effect of The Daily Mile on Primary School Children’s Aerobic Fitness Levels After 12 Weeks: A Controlled Trial

“…Teachers indicate that the simplicity, autonomy, flexibility, and adaptability in intervention delivery are relevant factors for successfully implementing The Daily Mile [15]. Teachers perceive The Daily Mile as beneficial for their students' health and fitness [16]. In practice, there is a large variation in implementation between schools [17,18].…”