During National School Sport Week, Robert Buckland MP added his voice to the Youth Sport Trust’s (YST) call to get children and young people excited to play sport.
Robert also wrote to South Swindon Primary School Head Teachers asking them to sign their school up for the Daily Mile.
The Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP held the Parliamentary Reception on behalf of YST and arranged the youth board, ambassadors, member schools and England Roses netball star Eboni Beckford-Chambers to talk to MPs about the value of sport.
National School Sport Week saw thousands of schools across the country celebrating the role of sport in play and education.
YST also launched their new charity strategy during National Sports Week: Believing in Every Child’s Future.
The strategy sets out a crucial plan to use the power of sport to tackle the decline in young people's mental and physical wellbeing.
Taking part in regular physical activity improves both physical and mental health, helps tackle stress, enhance achievement and help people develop important life skills such as team work, communication and resilience.
YST have worked with more than 20,000 schools and believe PE in school should focus on the wider benefits of sport and activity.
Between 2013 and 2018, YST supported 4.7 million children to participate in sport and physical activity.
Robert Buckland MP said: “ I am very supportive of both the work of the Youth Sports Trust and The Daily Mile initiative. The aim of The Daily Mile is to improve the physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing of our children – regardless of age, ability or personal circumstances.
“It is a profoundly simple but effective concept, which any primary or nursery school can implement completely free of charge and without the need for staff training. Its impact can be transformational – improving not only the children’s fitness, but also their concentration levels, mood, behaviour and general wellbeing.
“The Daily Mile is a social activity, wherein the children run or jog – at their own pace – in the fresh air with friends. Children can occasionally walk to catch their breath, if necessary, but should aim to run or jog for the full 15 minutes.
“Research has shown that The Daily Mile can even increase attainment in primary school, and parents have reported an increased interest in health and wellbeing from their children after they have started The Daily Mile.”
“I would like every child in my constituency to have the opportunity to do a Daily Mile at primary school and I would like to work with local schools to build a Daily Mile Community here in South Swindon.”
Ali Oliver, Chief Executive of YST, said: "We passionately believe that PE, school sport and physical activity – delivered in the right way – have the power to transform lives and tackle the challenges of obesity and declining mental health while improving young people's ability to succeed in the classroom and throughout their lives.
"With only one in five young people achieving the Chief Medical Officer's 60 active minutes per day it is vital that we do more to nurture a lifelong love of physical activity from an early age."
For more information on the charity’s new strategy Believing in Every Child’s Future and its six key objectives to achieve its 2022 vision for the future visit http://strategy.youthsporttrust.org/
For further information about signing up to the programme visit the Daily Mile https://thedailymile.co.uk/
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