A healthy breakfast, and a place to belong: supporting children’s mental health in schools

The latest Children’s Commissioner report paints a stark picture of children’s mental health in England.

The report identified that more than one million children had an active referral to mental health services in 2024-25, which is almost double the number seen just six years ago.

Anxiety remains the leading reason for referral, accounting for 16% of cases, while more than a third of children referred are still waiting for treatment. Further to this, the report highlighted that children are waiting an average of 128 days for help, and those from more disadvantaged communities are more likely to require support in the first place.

Schools have told us that every day, they are witnessing the impact that food insecurity, and rising living costs are having on children’s wellbeing. Long before a child reaches the point of referral to mental health services, teachers and school staff are seeing the warning signs: anxiety, stress, low mood, poor concentration, fatigue, and disengagement from learning.

Each year we ask Magic Breakfast partner schools to share the challenges they are facing in our Annual Breakfast Survey. This year, for the first time, we collaborated with children’s mental health charity, Place2Be. We found that 91% of partner schools believe student mental health impacts learning and success. Among secondary schools, that rises to 94%.

Schools are telling us how rapidly this challenge is escalating, with mental health and wellbeing now being the second most significant factor affecting pupil outcomes in English secondary schools, having risen from fifth place just a year ago. In Scottish secondary schools, it has similarly climbed from fifth to third.

Furthermore, school leaders consistently tell us that financial pressures are taking a direct toll on children’s wellbeing.

One secondary school described how:

The school went on to explain that staff have seen more pupils arriving hungry, tired and anxious, affecting attendance, concentration and emotional resilience.

Another secondary school reported:

With our survey telling us that 86% of partner schools believe breakfast provision supports pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, we know that the benefits of breakfast extend well beyond nutrition alone. A nutritious school breakfast gives children a place to belong, to feel welcomed, safe, nourished and connected at the start of the school day. As one school explains:

It’s more important than ever that students have a safe and calm place to go before they start the school day, and trusted adults they can speak to. For many, their school breakfast provision can be that place.