Rise North East has teamed up with Together For Children to support and encourage children in the city of Sunderland to become more active during the second lockdown.

The active partnership for Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, Rise, is working with Sunderland-based Together For Children to launch #TheDailyMileSunderland, which will see primary schools and nurseries in Sunderland win one of six prizes worth a combined total of £2,500 spend on sports equipment.

The competition, which will be run on Twitter using #TheDailyMileSunderland, requires education providers to those aged 3-11 years old in Sunderland to simply tweet a picture or video of pupils taking part in The Daily Mile, once per week throughout November and December.

Gary Young, Daily Mile Coordinator at Rise, said: “Since schools returned following the initial lockdown in the spring, it’s clear that most children have been happy to get back and were eager to see their friends and teachers again. However, many will have returned with poorer physical and mental health than before lockdown. We’re looking forward to seeing our Sunderland primary schools and nurseries efforts in getting the children moving again, and we’re excited to be giving them the chance to win something that will really benefit their pupils’ physical and mental health.”

The Daily Mile is just 15 minutes of running every day. Taking part in The Daily Mile helps schools to rebuild their children’s fitness and improve their emotional and mental health – all whilst being outside in the fresh air and sticking to social distancing guidelines. It costs nothing and there is no extra workload for staff. Children and their teachers can both enjoy being outside together, taking a short break from the classroom before learning resumes.

Jamie Scott, Project Manager at Together For Children, said: “Daily physical activity has many benefits, including improved mental health, which is has never been more important than it is now with the impending second national lockdown. Exercise is proven to increase engagement and attainment in the classroom and joining in with The Daily Mile enables children to take part in regular physical activity in a safe and positive environment. Thanks to our partnership with Rise on #TheDailyMileSunderland, we’re able to support the nurseries and primary schools of Sunderland in looking after the physical and mental wellbeing of children across the city.”

To enter #TheDailyMileSunderland, head over to Rise North East’s Twitter page.

If you work in a school and would like to know about how you can get involved with The Daily Mile, or you’re a parent and would like some more information on how your children’s school can become involved, contact Gary.Young@WeAreRise.co.uk

Full competition rules, terms and conditions can be found below.

#TheDailyMileSunderland competition rules, terms and conditions:

• Schools and nurseries based in Sunderland delivering education to children aged 3 - 11 years are eligible to enter the competition and will be eligible to win competition prizes.

• The competition entry period opens on 3 November 2020 at 9am and closes 14 December 2020 at 5pm.

• The competition will be run exclusively on Twitter.

• To take part in the competition eligible schools and nurseries must:

o Post video’s or photos of their own pupils taking part in The Daily Mile on the school/nursery Twitter page during the competition period.

o Post one video or photo per week during each week of the competition period, or at least one per week if they happen to miss one week. For example, no videos or photos on week one, but two videos or photos on week two, to make up for the week missed.

o Posts must include the tag #TheDailyMileSunderland

o Historic videos/photos (i.e. those taken prior to the competition starting or that have been posted previously on the nursery/school’s twitter page) will not be accepted.

• Consent:

o Eligible schools and nurseries take full responsibility for all aspect of consent by posting video’s and photos on Twitter.

o Posts may be shared by Together for Children, RISE, The Daily Mile Foundation and our partners on Twitter and other social media platforms.

• Competition Format and Prize Draw:

o When the entry period ends, all schools and nurseries that are valid and eligible to take part in the competition will be entered into a prize draw.

o The final decision relating to validity of entries will be made by Together for Children and Rise North East.

o Prize winning schools and nurseries will be drawn at random.

o The prize draw will be made by individuals without direct links to schools (e.g. school staff or governors will not be eligible to draw prizes)

• Competition Prizes:

o 1 x prize of £1250.

o 5 x prizes of £250.

• Awarding prizes and use of prize money:

o By taking part in the competition each winning school or nursery agrees to use the prize money to fund the purchase of sports equipment that will be used to benefit their pupils within six months of receipt of the prize money.

• Follow up:

o By taking part in the competition each winning school or nursery agrees to take part in a promotional activity after the competition. This may comprise of an activity such as an interview with a member of staff to understand how prize money has been used or photos of pupils using equipment purchased using the money.