New study will examine how existing schemes improve health, behaviour, attendance and attainment
The Nuffield Foundation has announced new funding for ISER researchers Professor Birgitta Rabe and Dr Angus Holford to analyse the impacts of school breakfast schemes on children’s health and welfare. This will help inform the design and potential impacts the Government’s proposed breakfast club policy.
School breakfast clubs have been delivered in some schools through different initiatives and charities for over 30 years, mostly for schools with high levels of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The new Government has announced plans to expand breakfast provision to all pupils in primary schools, with a proposed budget of £315 million per year by 2028.
Using the latest data available on existing schemes, this study aims to provide robust evidence about the impact of free breakfast schemes on important outcomes of children in primary school, and where possible on their parents or caregivers, to inform policy decisions.
The study will look at the impact on:
- absence, persistence absenteeism, and punctuality for children aged 5-11
- child development at age 5, attainment at ages 7 and 11
- mental health, as measured by emotional or behavioural challenges at ages 5, 8, 10-11 and happiness at age 10-11
- bodyweight (BMI, overweight, very overweight) at ages 5 and 11
- how parents’ perceive the financial impact of free breakfast provision and whether this impacts on their ability to work
- the differences in benefits between types of breakfast provision – such as breakfast clubs with early morning childcare or ‘grab and go’ breakfasts in the classroom during the school day
- the difference in impact on students and families by background, such as gender, ethnicity, eligibility for free school meals, size of household, and on different schools such as those in areas of multiple deprivation
- the impact of breakfast clubs during the cost-of-living crisis compared with pre-Covid years
Since there is no centralised database of school breakfast provision, the research team will utilise data from three major providers of breakfast provision in England: Magic Breakfast, the Greggs Foundation, and the National School Breakfast Programme. This will be linked to data from:
- the National Pupil Database (absences, punctuality, attainment, and child development);
- the National Child Measurement Programme (body weight); and
- Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, (children’s social emotional behaviour, mental health, and parent’s financial situation and labour market participation).
Find out more about the study here