What are the key ingredients for success?
We’ve identified seven practical ingredients that can help breakfast thrive in any school or educational setting. Throughout the webpage you will see where we have linked these to certain outcomes. They are all equally important and work best when put together.
1. Consistent Routine & Reliable Provision
A predictable breakfast routine helps children and young people build trust and feel secure. Knowing what to expect each morning sets a calm tone for the day.
2. Creating Additional Resources
Tailored resources, like visual aids or communication boards, make breakfast accessible for all, ensuring no child is excluded due to their needs.
3. Dedicating Time to Breakfast
When schools give breakfast its own space and time, it becomes more than a meal, it’s a chance to develop skills, settle emotionally, and prepare for learning.
4. Giving Students Responsibility
Involving students in breakfast tasks, like setting up or serving food, builds independence, confidence, and practical life skills.
5 . Integrating learning & enrichment into breakfast
Linking breakfast to learning, through cooking or communication, makes it a meaningful part of the school day and maximises its value.
6. Creating different settings for breakfast
Flexible breakfast spaces, quiet rooms, classrooms, or communal areas, ensures every student can access breakfast in a way that suits them.
7. Senior Leadership Buy-In
Support from school leaders is essential. It unlocks resources, drives consistency, and ensures breakfast is prioritised across the whole setting.