SCHOOL BREAKFASTS ON THE NATIONAL AGENDA

Magic Breakfast is pleased that one of the main political parties has included free school breakfasts for primary children in their election manifesto. We are very proud of what we do at the charity. Here are some points for clarification if you want to know more about the Magic Breakfast model:

• Magic Breakfast is a charity providing healthy breakfasts during term time to more than 31,000 children at over 470 schools in England – these include primaries, secondaries, Special Educational Needs schools and Pupil Referral Units.
• The charity was set up by Carmel McConnell in response to headteachers telling her that the biggest barrier to them being able to teach was that children were arriving at school too hungry to learn, unable to concentrate in their morning lessons.
• The charity focuses on reaching, without barrier or stigma, children in disadvantaged areas who are at risk of hunger or malnutrition at the start of the school day.
• We form partnerships with schools where over 35% of pupils are eligible for Free School Meals (or where over 50% of children have been eligible for FSMs in the past 6 years).
• We provide the expertise and food, in line with School Food Standards – including low-sugar cereal and porridge. Schools provide the facilities and staffing.
• Independent research, published in November 2016, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and Department for Education, and carried out by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, found that primary schools that offered a free and nutritious breakfast boosted their pupils’ reading, writing and maths results by as much as two months’ progress over the course of a year.
• This was a randomised controlled trial conducted with the help of 106 Magic Breakfast partner schools, covering 8,600 children. The evaluators concluded that breakfast clubs provide an opportunity to improve outcomes for all children, not just those who actually attend them, by creating better classroom environments.
• Magic Breakfast would like every school where hunger is a barrier to education to receive the full support it needs to provide pupils with a free, nutritious breakfast, so that no child in this country is too hungry to learn.