Study finds breakfast clubs can boost results in South Yorkshire classrooms
It’s claimed school breakfast clubs can help to boost primary school pupils' results in reading, writing and maths.
It’s claimed school breakfast clubs can help to boost primary school pupils' results in reading, writing and maths.
A study found Year 2 children who go to primary schools with a before-school club could make an extra two months’ progress in these core subjects over a year, compared to youngsters in other schools.
The research, published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), also found that at schools with breakfast clubs, pupils' concentration and behaviour also improved.
It concludes that breakfast clubs may be a chance to improve results for all children, not just those that attend, by improving their classroom environment.
Sam Bailey is Principal at the Forest Academy, a primary school in Barnsley: “Right from the off we had children as young as three attending breakfast club alongside children who were 11. So cross age range conversations are very much a feature of what happens, and lots of adult interaction.”
Lisa Watson is Deputy Head teacher at Athlestan Primary School in Sheffield – she agreed the clubs have lots of benefits:
“One of the biggest things is the children are here on time for school every day. It gives them a chance to get that gossip out the way before the bell goes, and then they’re taken down to their classrooms. So the children feel safe, we invite parents to stay as well. It just gives them that good start and good routine in the morning.”
The research also concluded that it’s not just eating breakfast that helps to improve results, but actually attending a club. As well as the nutritional benefits, the social and educational benefits of attending may have an impact.
Teacher perceptions of classroom behaviour and concentration improved in the breakfast club schools relative to the other schools in the trial,'' the authors said. These improvements mean that breakfast club provision can have benefits even for children who do not attend, by improving their classroom learning environment.''
The report looked at the results of the Magic Breakfast project, which provided 106 schools with the support and resources to offer a free breakfast club, including to all Year 2 children. It ran between September 2014 and July 2015.
The aim was to improve academic results by increasing the number of children who ate a healthy breakfast.