New guidance for better breakfasts

A ‘Good Breakfast Guide’ has also been released and is available to download. The guide provides information on the nutrients in healthy breakfasts, key food groups to include and examples of healthy breakfasts for children and young people. 

Last year the Foundation, in partnership with the charity Magic Breakfast, published a narrative review on the importance of breakfast for health and educational attainment in school-aged children. 

The Foundation also held a roundtable discussion, with Magic Breakfast, to explore the findings from the review and gather views from a range of stakeholders with insight and interest in children’s health inequalities and nutritional intakes. 

Based on the findings of the review and insights from the discussions at the roundtable, a set of recommendations for those in education policy and food provision for children and young people were developed.  

The recommendations for better breakfast provision are summarised below and can be used as a reference for anyone involved in breakfast provision for children and young people.  

To celebrate the importance of breakfast, we are encouraging schools to take part in a ‘National Schools Breakfast week’ during the week of the 9th September 2024. During the week we will encourage schools to highlight breakfast, offer ‘soft starts’ with breakfast for pupils and to learn about how breakfast can support health and development. Further details will be available by the end of June, but schools can register their interest by emailing education@nutrition.org.uk  

1. RAISE AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF BREAKFAST FOR YOUNG PEOPLE:  

• Increased public health messaging can help raise awareness of the potential benefits and importance of breakfast in children and young people in schools (both primary and secondary), as well as at home.  
• Commitment on increasing awareness of the importance of breakfast in children and young people from school leadership, government, local authorities and other stakeholders is crucial to support recognition of the potential benefits of school breakfast provision, particularly for those most in need.  
• Inclusive, accessible and frequent communication with pupils, parents/carers and staff about school breakfast provision helps raise awareness and engagement, builds future interest and fosters a whole school approach.  

2. INCREASE RECOGNITION THAT EVERY MEAL MATTERS:  

• Regular consumption of healthy breakfast options can help to improve diet quality, provide a nutritional safety net for all children and young people, and help to support better fibre and micronutrient intakes. In turn this will have the potential to improve health outcomes particularly in vulnerable groups where there is evidence of lower intakes of fibre and some micronutrients.  
• School breakfast provision can alleviate pupils’ hunger during the morning if they have not eaten at home or on the way to school. but can also have wider impacts for children and young people such as providing an opportunity for social interaction, improving readiness to learn and punctuality, as well as helping establish healthier eating habits. 
• Understanding of what constitutes a healthier breakfast can be part of the school curriculum and breakfast preparation can be used to teach simple cooking skills, that can support a healthy, balanced diet overall, and influence children’s food choices as they grow older.  
• As part of a whole school food approach increasing emphasis on providing breakfast may shift recognition that school food and its contribution to pupils’ nutrition encompasses more than solely school lunch.   
• Consideration should be given to how breakfast, as well as other school food provision, supports the sustainability agenda and moves towards Net Zero. 

3. PROMOTE INCLUSIVITY OF BREAKFAST PROVISION:  

• Free school breakfasts can promote inclusivity and help ensure that all children are able to experience the benefits of a healthy breakfast. It has the potential to increase household food security for children from low-income households.  
• Consideration should be given to measures to increase participation in breakfast clubs (in primary and secondary schools) to make them more inclusive to children from low-income households and the unique needs of the school community.  
• This could include:  
  • no-fee/stigma free breakfasts, 
  • consideration of cultural differences, allergies and special needs, 
  • adapting breakfast club practices/models such as a healthy ‘grab and go’ breakfast or a ‘soft start’ where classrooms open early for breakfast, 
  • developing innovative options for healthier, convenient, ‘grab and go’ foods that meet school standards and are acceptable and operationally easy to provide.  

4. IMPLEMENT EVALUATION:  

• Stronger, standardised evaluation programmes of breakfast provision to measure impact on health, behaviour and attainment outcomes for government and other provision schemes should be implemented.  
• Schools should be encouraged and supported to: -  
  • keep accurate records of attendance numbers to monitor uptake of their breakfast clubs, 
  • ensure the quality of breakfasts served in schools align with School Food Standards and other dietary recommendations, 
  • implement a quality improvement programme so provision continues to meet the needs of their school community and that links are made with teaching and learning within a whole school approach, in a way that minimises burdens on schools.