£26m plan to give pupils healthy breakfast to get their day started
MORE CHILDREN across the country will get a healthy breakfast to set them up for the school day following an investment of up to £26m and the appointment of two charities to run the morning clubs, the Education Secretary announced today.
The funding, which is from the Government’s soft drinks industry levy, will boost breakfast provision in about 1,775 schools across the country.
This investment will be targeted at the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the Department for Education’s Opportunity Areas such as the North Yorkshire coast, Bradford and Doncaster.
Family Action, in partnership with Magic Breakfast, have both been named as the leading charities that will run the clubs.
Family Action supports 45,000 of the most vulnerable families each year, while Magic Breakfast – which ran the department’s previous breakfast club programme – has supported the provision of breakfasts to more than 31,500 children across 550 schools.
Research shows that a healthy breakfast can help boost children’s attainment by improving their memory and concentration.
As part of the funding, experts at Family Action and Magic Breakfast will also look at how they can encourage more children to attend these programmes and improve collaboration and sharing of best practice across schools.
David Holmes, chief executive of Family Action, said: “Breakfast clubs play a key role in ensuring children have a healthy start to their day. Family Action is delighted to be working with the Department for Education and Magic Breakfast on this groundbreaking programme – changing lives and life chances by preventing thousands of children from being too hungry to learn.”
The new clubs are due to start in the coming months. As well as providing a nutritious meal, many will also offer children the chance to be more active and develop their knowledge and skills through extra-curricular activities to improve their learning.