Magic Breakfast Welcomes Support from Amazon to Help Give UK Schoolchildren a Healthier Start to the Day

 

·       Amazon to support the provision of over 700,000 nutritious breakfasts in 2016-2017 school year for over 3,800 children in 57 schools across the UK

·       New research by the Education Endowment Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies finds strong positive link between children eating a nutritious breakfast at school and pupil attainment

·       Amazon’s work with Magic Breakfast forms part of the company’s Amazon In The Community programme which focuses on helping children reach their potential in the digital world

 

08 December 2016 – Magic Breakfast announced today that Amazon is now an important supporter of the UK charity in a move which will provide over 700,000 healthy breakfasts in the 2016-2017 school year to over 3,800 children in 57 schools around the UK. The new initiative means that thousands more schoolchildren across Britain will see their life chances improved by being able to concentrate in class and perform better in their studies.

Amazon has committed funding to ensure schoolchildren in disadvantaged areas receive a nutritious breakfast before school including bagels, cereals, juice and porridge. Amazon’s support will provide a specialist member of Magic Breakfast staff to work with the schools to help target the most vulnerable children and build nutritional understanding among teachers and parents. A number of schools will also receive books, Kindle e-readers and tablets, and educational games. 

“A good primary education plays such an important role in helping kids build the skills and confidence they need to succeed in today’s increasingly high-skilled economy,” said Doug Gurr, UK Country Manager, Amazon. “Every child, regardless of background, should get an equal chance to excel at school, and we should not allow hunger to be a barrier to getting a great education. We’re committed to helping thousands of children around the UK get a healthy, nutritious breakfast to improve concentration, boost attendance, and ultimately learn a lot more.” 

Magic Breakfast’s founder and Chief Executive, Carmel McConnell, welcomed the new support saying: “This partnership adds to the Magic Breakfast national offer, and we are delighted to be able to add Amazon to our list of generous corporate supporters. This help is urgently needed. A hungry child cannot concentrate and the most important lessons are taught in the morning. So if we as a country want to improve attainment and social mobility, it makes sense to grow the successful Magic Breakfast approach into a national school breakfast programme". 

“It is great having Amazon on our team with this - helping us to reach more of the half a million children who turn up to school too hungry or malnourished to learn.  We hope other businesses take up this cause too and support the next generation on their path to career success”. 

Amazon’s work with Magic Breakfast forms part of the company’s Amazon in the Community programme which supports communities in and around where Amazon operates in the UK. The initiative focuses on helping children reach their potential in the digital world by creating a positive environment for children, supporting the development of essential skills, and empowering young people find and develop their career.

The new initiative was announced following the release of a year-long research study, conducted by the Education Endowment Foundation and Institute for Fiscal Studies, with the backing of the Department for Education. The research found that breakfast clubs that offer primary school pupils a free and nutritious meal before school can boost their reading, writing and maths results by the equivalent of two months’ progress over the course of a year. The evaluators reported that pupil concentration and behaviour improved too. These findings suggest that breakfast clubs provide an opportunity to improve outcomes for all children, not just those who actually attend, by creating better classroom environments.  

Sharon Taylor-Sezgin, Headteacher of St John's CE Primary School in Bethnal Green, London, whose school has received Magic Breakfast provision for the last 4 years, said: "Magic Breakfast provision has a big impact on our school, with pupils enjoying time each morning to socialise and read before starting lessons settled and ready to learn. St John's is delighted to be one of the schools whose breakfast provision is being supported by Amazon and we look forward to the opportunities this new partnership will bring to the whole school community."

Magic Breakfast already provides breakfast support to over 31,000 hungry children in 467 schools across the UK. The new funding will be focused on schools neighbouring Amazon UK’s Head Offices, Development Centres, and Fulfilment Centres.

 

ENDS

 

Notes to Editors

 

For further information, please contact:

Sophia Dettmer

[email protected]

T: 07399 553154

 

About Magic Breakfast

Magic Breakfast is a registered charity providing nutritious breakfasts (bagels, cereal, porridge, fresh orange juice) and expert support to over 31,000 pupils in 467 schools across England. The charity supports schools with 35% or more pupils eligible for free school meals, or with 50% Ever 6 FSM, by helping them to establish and maintain breakfast provision that reaches every vulnerable child. Magic Breakfast is able to deliver a low cost, high impact solution to the problem of children arriving at school too hungry to learn with the help of generous supporters such as Amazon, and food industry partners including Quaker Oats UK, Tropicana, Tesco and Bagel Nash.

Locations for Amazon’s initiative with Magic Breakfast

Schools neighbouring Amazon sites in the following locations have been identified to receive funding for breakfast clubs under this initiative with Magic Breakfast: Aberdeen, Banbury, Basildon, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth Airport, Worthing, Newhaven, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coalville, Cork, Croydon, Dartford, Doncaster, Dundee, Dunfermline, Dunstable, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Gourock, Hatfield, Hayes, Hemel Hempstead, Knowsley, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Maidstone, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Sunderland, Gateshead, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Romford, Rugeley, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke, Surrey, Swansea, Swindon, Warrington, Weybridge, Wimbledon, and Worcester.