Free breakfast food, start-up grant and expert support available to eligible schools.
Central government funding is now available to set up or improve school breakfast provision, via the new National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP), in over 1,770 schools in disadvantaged areas of England.
The Department for Education’s National School Breakfast Programme (external link) is being delivered by Magic Breakfast and Family Action. They are now recruiting schools, which either have no existing breakfast provision, or breakfast provision where there is scope for improvement (according to specific criteria).
Most schools that sign up to the National School Breakfast Programme will receive as much free, healthy breakfast food, delivered straight to the door, as they need to feed every child at risk of hunger in their school. As well as resources and best practice events, a dedicated member of the NSBP team will be available to support each school and a £500 start-up grant will be available to buy necessary equipment such as toasters or a freezer.
Eating a healthy school breakfast benefits pupils by improving their concentration, behaviour, attendance, punctuality and educational attainment. Research funded by the Education Endowment Foundation found that Y2 pupils in schools providing a free, nutritious breakfast, boosted their reading, writing and maths by an average of two months’ progress per year, compared to pupils in schools with no such breakfast provision.
Schools can find out if they are eligible for support from the National School Breakfast Programme by filling in an expression of interest form and returning it to nsbp@family-action.org.uk