What are school breakfast clubs?
Breakfast clubs run before the school day, providing childcare, food and activities. They provide the chance for children and young people to spend time together and connect with school staff in a safe, relaxed setting. From our partner schools we hear a wide variety of different enrichment activities being held during breakfast clubs from sport, reading to arts and crafts.
Through our Annual Breakfast Survey partners schools tell us many pupils even come in early just to see their friends, enjoy a chat, or play games before lessons begin. In fact, 86% of schools have told us that breakfast time helps boost social skills.
Pupils love being greeted with a smile, and it gives school staff a valuable opportunity to check in and offer extra support to anyone who might need it. Additionally, 93% of our partner schools agree that breakfast provision has positively impacted concentration in class.
Other benefits include social interaction between all ages, reduced stigma and stronger parental access to work opportunities. Find out more about our annual survey.
But…breakfast clubs are only part of the solution to addressing child morning hunger
At Magic Breakfast, we have a variety of different breakfast models within our provision. They include:
- Breakfast clubs: We recommend offering free places to the most vulnerable pupils but, where possible, a breakfast club can open its doors free of charge for all; a great way to ensure there are no barriers, nor stigma.
- Canteen breakfast: Magic Breakfast often runs alongside existing breakfast models in the canteen, providing free and nutritious options for all.
- Classroom breakfast: Effective in reaching a high number of children and young people daily, breakfast is eaten in classrooms at or before the start of the school day. This is ideal for schools with a soft start where pupils can be offered breakfast whilst reading or doing early morning work.
- Grab and go: Breakfast items are available to pupils as they arrive in the morning in a location that is easily accessible. This could be at the school gate or as they line up in the playground. This is adaptable to any school layout and can be tagged on to the end of a breakfast club.
- Breakfast for late arrivals: Breakfast items are offered to pupils who arrive late. It can be as simple as a basket of bakery items at the sign-in desk.
How does Magic Breakfast provision work?
1. We’re here to discover what needs your school has
One of our team will get an understanding of your school, alongside the children, young people and community. They’ll consider and discuss any issues, concerns, or barriers you may be facing so the breakfast set up works for your environment. Based on this we’ll share our different breakfast models with you, our Magic Menu of food items and how everything works.
2. We’ll help decide which breakfast model is the perfect fit for your school
Magic Breakfast is here to support you to decide which hunger focused breakfast model works best for your school.
3. Your stigma free breakfast provision is ready
We’ll teach you to set up the breakfast in a barrier-free way, so that every child can access a healthy breakfast. Each set up in a school is adapted to suit the needs, requirements, and restrictions of a school and we have a wealth of experience in adapting what we do.
How can my school join the Magic Breakfast programme?
You can find out about eligibility criteria across England and Scotland and what we offer as part of our membership.
Frequently asked questions about breakfast clubs:
I would like to find out more about the government’s free breakfast clubs in England
To find out the latest news from the Department of Education, or if you’re a school and you’re looking for guidance, visit the GOV UK webpage.
What about school breakfast clubs in Scotland?
We’re delighted that school breakfast clubs are currently being trialled in Scotland.
If you’re a Scottish school and you’ve received funding from Bright Start Breakfasts, we can help you enhance your breakfast club. Explore more about what Magic Breakfast can offer.
What campaigns are Magic Breakfast currently running?
We have many campaigns running at Magic Breakfast. Our most recent campaign, ‘More Than Breakfast’ is focusing on young people in secondary school. The research we’ve undertaken is helping to show decision makers across the UK how skipping breakfast is holding young people back.
To see how you can make a difference check out our campaigns webpage.
Why is breakfast important for children?
The benefits of breakfast for children and young people are expansive; including, improved attendance, behaviour and GCSE results. Find out more information about the importance of breakfast.
Students are more settled around the corridors and can enter school having not eaten before arriving, therefore behaviour seems unsettled, much calmer after having breakfast and the opportunity to be within the calm, safe area of the breakfast club.”
Magic Breakfast partner school, Barking, and Dagenham