Breakfast Clubs
What is a Breakfast Club?
School breakfast clubs serve food to children who arrive early at school, before formal lessons begin. The way in which the clubs operate depends on the individual circumstances of the school. However, many schools work closely with their school caterer or others to arrange an informal breakfast in a classroom serving fruit, toast, breakfast cereal and drinks.
Breakfast clubs have been operating in the UK for several years and the emphasis of different clubs varies considerably. For example, some breakfast clubs have objectives of integrating study or welfare support, some include play activities, while others focus on providing breakfast and a time for informal interaction between children and school staff, sometimes also involving parents.
A recent study of breakfast clubs summarises four main areas of need as:
- Health and nutrition
- Improving children’s education
- Children’s social needs
- Parent and family life.
A breakfast club involves pupils, school staff, parents and the wider community. It aims to improve the health and well-being of children, as well as the staff and volunteers involved. A breakfast club also underpins the goals of a health promoting school.
Why start a school Breakfast Club?
There are many potential benefits of setting up a school breakfast club. Research has shown that eating breakfast improves children’s problem solving abilities, their memory, concentration levels, visual perception and creative thinking. An evaluation of breakfast clubs by the New Policy Institute stated that all schools involved believed that attendance at the breakfast club provided a good start to the day, leaving the children more settled, attentive and motivated to learn. Breakfast club co-ordinators have also reported improved punctuality and school attendance.Eating a healthy breakfast is important to everyone’s health needs. Breakfast provides an ideal opportunity for children to begin the day by eating bread, other cereals, fruit and vegetables, which are all important elements of a healthy and balanced diet. Results from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2000) show children aged 4-18 eat less than half the recommended daily amount of fruit and vegetables.
How to start a breakfast club
When planning your breakfast club, keep it simple, especially at the start. Gradually build up and develop menus as the club becomes established. Assess school staff and parental interest and demand for a breakfast club before you start. Hold a special meeting for parents to discuss your plans. Investigate the type of breakfast food the children typically eat. Remember to consider religious and cultural aspects of food choice. If you have a school caterer, meet with them to decide whether it would be possible for them to offer a breakfast menu, initially on a trial basis.Promote the breakfast club to encourage the children to attend. By involving them from the outset through encouraging children to, for example, name the club or design a menu can prove very successful. It may take time to establish the club within the school and it is vital to continue promoting interest in the breakfast club once it has been set up. Offering an end of term prize for good attendance; sending out regular newsletters; or encouraging school staff to be involved and promote the club as an integral part of the school are all successful approaches to ensuring the continuity of the club.
You may wish to seek funds to keep the cost of the breakfast menu low. Use existing funds within the school and opportunities for fund-raising. Acquire funds from both government initiatives and local projects. Explore the potential of your local community, for example local shops or supermarkets may be able to provide support and local libraries may donate or exchange books or toys.
If the school does not have a dining room, make sure that a suitable breakfast club room is available. Think about how the children will arrive at the club and make suitable arrangements for before school supervision when crossing the roads. Pay attention to relevant regulations, such as the Food Safety regulations applying to premises, equipment, storage of food and disposal of waste.
Useful links
The New Policy Institute (NPI) has been researching breakfast clubs since 1998. It has several useful publications on its website http://www.npi.org.uk/..... This includes:
- Improving breakfast clubs: lessons from the best – Feb 2002
- Breakfast clubs: a 'how to' guide – Jan 2000
- Food for thought: breakfast clubs and their challenges – Oct 1999
- Fit for school: how breakfast clubs meet health, education and child care needs – Mar 1999
The Scottish Community Diet Project has produced a second edition of its very comprehensive toolkit “Breakfast Clubs...More a Head Start” http://www.dietproject.org.uk/toolkits/......
Breakfast Club Plus is a UK-wide network run by ContinYou the community learning charity. It has extensive information about funding, evaluation and lots more http://www.breakfastclubplus.org.uk
The Food in Schools toolkit http://foodinschools.datacenta.uk.net/ has a section on healthier breakfast clubs including guidance and downloadable resources.