Impact of school breakfast programmes

This project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, investigated the impact of free breakfast schemes on children’s well-being and academic outcomes in English primary schools.

Research findings published 13 July 2026

Read our 2-page Explainer here: MiSoC Explainer 2026:002.

Read the full report here: Impact of school breakfast programmes in primary schools in England.

Read coverage of the findings in the TES Free breakfast in schools ‘could worsen child obesity’ | Tes

Why this project was important

School breakfast schemes have been delivered in England via different initiatives and charities for at least 30 years. Since 2018 the National School Breakfast Programme has subsidised breakfast in schools with a high proportion of pupils from deprived neighbourhoods. The current government has announced its intention to expand breakfast provision to all pupils in primary school. However, it’s unclear which form of breakfast provision will be chosen and which is optimal.

Since there is no centralised database of school breakfast provision, the research team used data from three major providers of breakfast provision in England: Magic Breakfast, the Greggs Foundation, and the National School Breakfast Programme and linked to:

• the National Pupil Database (absences, punctuality, attainment, and child development);
• the National Child Measurement Programme (body weight); and
• Understanding Society (children’s social emotional behaviour, mental health, and parent’s financial situation and labour market participation).

How it will make a difference

Findings from this work provide evidence on the benefits of different forms of breakfast provision (e.g. grab n’ go versus a before-school club), in different types of schools and for different groups of children. It will therefore help determine optimal ways for breakfast provision to be implemented and whether supplementary policies might be required to shift some of the targeted outcomes.

Final publications from this research

The findings from this research project were presented at an event on 13 July at the Nuffield Foundation.

Read our 2-page Explainer here: MiSoC Explainer 2026:002.

Read the full report here: Impact of school breakfast programmes in primary schools in England.