This is according to the results of a randomised controlled trial published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) – curators of the Teaching and Learning Toolkit.
More than 100 primary schools with higher than average numbers of disadvantaged pupils took part in the trial, which was delivered to 8,600 pupils by the charity Magic Breakfast. Over the course of an academic year, parents were encouraged to send their child to free breakfast clubs before registration. The children were able to choose between cereals, wheat biscuits, porridge and bagels.
The independent evaluation by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the National Children’s Bureau found that year 2 children in schools with a breakfast club made two additional months’ progress in reading, writing and maths compared with a similar group whose schools were not given support to offer breakfast.
The results suggest that for pupils in relatively disadvantaged schools it is attending the breakfast club, not just eating breakfast, which leads to academic improvements.
- To download this and other research reports from the EEF, visit https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/our-work/projects/