Not only does our work alleviate hunger, through research, we’ve shown that eating breakfast is a vital part of improving learning, school attendance, health and wellbeing for children and young people.
Having breakfast at school makes a big impact across a child’s education. It’s not just a great start to the day. For pupils experiencing socio-economic disadvantage it has been continuously proven to positively impact educational attainment, concentration, focus and behaviour of all pupils in the classroom.
Improved GCSE results
Improved literacy and numeracy
Attendance
Children in secondary school who had breakfast, achieve on average two GCSEs higher than children who rarely eat breakfast.
Providing free, nutritious breakfast boosts children’s reading, writing and maths by an average of two months’ progress compared to pupils in schools with no breakfast.
Attendance increases in schools offering breakfast, with 26 fewer half-days of absence per year in a class of 30. It also reduces late arrivals.
Cognitive function
Behaviour
Return on investment
Tasks requiring attention, executive function, and memory are carried out more reliably when children eat breakfast.
In schools with breakfast, pupil behaviour improves as well as the classroom environment.
Every £1 invested in school breakfasts can generate over £50 for the economy in the future.
Every year we survey our partner schools to monitor our impact – here’s just a snapshot of what our teachers told us in 2023.
Direct impact on children and young people
Hope
School breakfast provision is a morning beacon of hope that illuminates the path of a child’s success.”
Support
We were made aware of a student who wasn’t eating at home due to having no food in the cupboards. Phone calls home were made to inform parents of the support in place in school. Parent was very happy, in fact cried on the phone, due to the support provided. That student now accesses breakfast every morning.”
Community
The classroom has a greater sense of ‘community’. It is a place where the day begins positively with students showing their independence, developing their communication skills and having fantastic social interactions.”
Behaviour
Hunger has a massive impact on behaviour and engagement. Pupils now arrive at classrooms ready to learn. They have had their breakfast time to socialise with peers and staff and they are ready to engage. This has made a really big difference to the school day.”
Learning
The school have a “Book and Bagel” approach to breakfast club. Because of the bagels we now have hundreds of children coming to school early to also read.”
Friendships
Magic Breakfast has enabled some of our most vulnerable children to eat, make friends and feel part of our community. It is a positive start to the school day and valued by all in our school. We know that everyone in our academy has the opportunity to eat and be fed at the start of the day, giving them their fuel for learning. Fantastic.”
Inclusive
Providing the breakfasts in the classrooms is a leveller for all children irrespective of the home circumstances. It ensures all children have a good healthy start to the school day.”
Nurturing
For pupils who sometimes arrive in school upset or unsettled, we have used breakfast as a ‘buffer zone’ to help them regulate before entering the classroom ready to learn.”
