Derbyshire school Northfield Junior has turbocharged their kids’ activity levels by taking on the challenge en masse – all 140 of them! The results are amazing, says Year 3 teacher and PE co-ordinator Toni Burton...
How does it work?
All of the children, along with 15 staff members, do a daily mile (or more) in the afternoon and they write down the number of laps they complete of the playground they complete in their own booklet. Although the focus is for everyone to achieve as many laps as they can in the afternoon, the children can still complete laps during morning break and lunch-time too. Any laps can be added to their scores at any time. The laps are then converted into miles once the whole class has added up their total number of laps that week, and each class competes for the lead!. We also encourage the children to add on any mileage they complete out of school as an incentive for them, as well as their parents, to become as active as possible during their daily lives. #walk1000miles is really having an impact on the wider community too!
What’s the effect been?
We’ve seen a significant rise in the children’s motivation and determination to achieve high mileage both in and out of school. They can’t wait to tell us where they have been walking over the weekend! It’s also improved their concentration in the afternoon and promoted positive behaviours like encouraging one another to do well. Carter (Y5) says: “It’s really fun and it gives me more energy. I like the competition between the classes because it makes you want to achieve more laps than your friends in the other classes and beat them.”
Sounds like walking’s on the curriculum and it’s really working out!
Walking not only improves physical fitness and endurance. It also helps to clear the mind and relieve the body of stress. We’re big believers in its impact on the school’s well-being. Cheap, fun, accessible, and easy for us to implement, that’s why #walk1000miles has been such a success.
