School breakfast clubs can help children boost results

School breakfast clubs can help school pupils' attain better results in reading, writing, and maths, according to research.

A new study suggests that children in Year 2 who attend primary schools offering a before-school club could make two months more progress in core subjects over a year, compared to youngsters in other schools.

The research, published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), also found that where schools had breakfast clubs, pupils' concentration and behaviour was better.

It concludes that the clubs may be an opportunity for all children to improve results, not just those who attend, by improving the classroom environment.

The report looked at the results of the Magic Breakfast project, which provided 106 schools with the resources to offer a free breakfast club, which ran between September 2014 and July 2015.

Sir Kevan Collins, chief executive of the EEF, said: "The fact that there are children that will go to school hungry today is a national scandal.

"Offering free breakfasts at school is a relatively cheap and straightforward way of alleviating this symptom of disadvantage.

"That's why the findings from today's evaluation report are so encouraging. Not only does a good breakfast provide all young people with a nutritious start to the day, but well-run breakfast clubs have the potential to boost attainment and behaviour too."