30th January, 2020

Mike Amesbury MP visited Murdishaw West Community Primary School last week after 100 schoolchildren in his constituency of Weaver Vale wrote to him asking for his support for school breakfasts in Parliament.  

In their letters, children from Murdishaw West and Woodside Primary highlighted that school breakfasts gave them more energy and helped them concentrate in class, and work harder, especially when they had tests.  One child wrote, ‘[Breakfast] gives us a boost in the morning so we can work hard and try our best in school all the time’, while another wrote, ‘I like eating breakfast at school because it helps me get on with work without being hungry and makes me concentrate in class’.

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The children decided to write to Mike Amesbury after he won The Private Members’ Bill Ballot, a parliamentary process which means he can now table a Bill on any subject he chooses. They wrote to echo Magic Breakfast’s call for a School Breakfast Bill, which would guarantee all children at risk of hunger access to a healthy and free school breakfast.  

During his visit to Murdishaw West, Mr Amesbury attended a breakfast meeting with children including the Head Girl and Head Boy, the Deputy Head Teacher and Magic Breakfast staff. 

Following the meeting, the Deputy Head Teacher, Mrs Phillips, said: ‘We were delighted to meet Mike Amesbury MP and to share the impact school breakfasts have had at Murdishaw West. Now that all of our children start the day well nourished, attendance, punctuality, behaviour and readiness to learn in morning lessons have improved significantly.’

Mr Amesbury responded to the issues raised during the meeting saying, ‘It was a privilege to meet the children of Murdishaw West. School breakfasts play an essential role in ensuring all children, including those at risk of hunger, are able to focus on lessons and access education, rather than being distracted by growling stomachs. I will carefully consider how I can support school breakfasts in Parliament.’

Mike Amesbury is now considering a number of worthwhile Private Members' Bill proposals on a wider variety of different topics, many of which would also benefit the same families and communities Magic Breakfast is working with. We are very grateful to him for taking the time to visit Murdishaw West and for listening so openly to the children’s views. We’ll be watching closely to see what Bill he chooses to take forward, but we look forward to continuing to work with him either way. Excitingly, he has already committed to writing to the Prime Minister about school breakfasts.

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Adults in main photo, from left to right: Alysa Remtulla, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Magic Breakfast; Mike Amesbury Labour MP for Weaver Vale in Cheshire; Emily Frezza, Magic Breakfast School Partner in the North West of England.