Footballers from Gillingham FC and Charlton Athletic are supporting a new council initiative to encourage children to be active during the school day.

The Medway School Mile, which is aimed at primary schools, was introduced in September 2016 and encourages children to take part in 15 minutes of activity averaging a mile.

The programme gets children out of the classroom and into the fresh air, and encourages them to work together and enjoy being active in a non-competitive setting. The short break from the classroom helps improve children’s concentration and behaviour, as well as their physical and emotional health and wellbeing.

Andy Crofts who has joined Charlton Athletic from Brighton and Jake Hessenthaler from Gillingham FC attended the official launch of the Medway School Mile at Fairview Community Primary School in Wigmore on Monday, 14 November 2016. Every child got involved in the celebratory event and walked, jogged or ran a mile. Andy and Jake joined in with some year 4 children while they completed their one mile challenge.

On the day of the event Head Teacher at Fairview Community Primary School Debbie Willis said: “We have used the idea of the council’s Medway School Mile to create our own Fairview Mile. As well as increasing children’s fitness levels, school sports activities can help to improve primary school children’s academic performance and social skills and create even more of a community spirit. The atmosphere in the school today has been fabulous, with children and staff supporting each other on their efforts.

“Children have the choice of walking, jogging or running the mile, and each child will have their own record of how many miles they have completed throughout the year. We are the first school in Medway to launch this initiative and we are looking forward to seeing our children flourish even more.”

The resource pack also gives schools the opportunity to get the whole community involved, including parents, guardians and grandparents, and to use the mile to fundraise. The council will use any proceeds to reinvest in the Mini Youth Games school programme, which also encourages children to get involved in sport.

Cllr David Brake, Portfolio Holder in charge of Public Health, said: “We work closely with schools and children’s centres to promote a healthier lifestyle from an early age, and the Medway School Mile is a new initiative which supports our work to keep children active and at a healthy weight.

“I have spoken with colleagues in the Midlands who have implemented a similar initiative, and early feedback is that the children thoroughly enjoy going outside and completing a mile. We will continue to do all we can to support children’s health and wellbeing, and I hope many more schools sign up to the Medway School Mile.”

Cllr Howard Doe, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Services, said: “The Medway School Mile is a great tool to help schools encourage children to be more active, and the benefits are huge. Just 15 minutes of fresh air and exercise can help improve children’s concentration and learning in the classroom.

“Our sports team has designed a resource pack for schools, which costs less than £2 per child, to support the implementation and running of the Medway School Mile. Schools are encouraged to use their Primary School Sport Premium funding to get a copy of the resource pack and help engage every pupil in healthier active lifestyles, regardless of age, circumstance or ability.”

For more information on the Medway School Mile, visit http://www.medway.gov.uk/leisurecultureandsport/sport/youngpeople/medwayschoolmile.aspx