Free breakfast provision for more Falkirk pupils as programme expanded to more schools
More children across the Falkirk area will benefit from free breakfast provision after ten additional schools joined the Magic Breakfast programme.
Supported through Bright Start Breakfast Club funding from the Scottish Government the expansion will provide hundreds more pupils with access to a nutritious breakfast before the start of the school day, helping to ensure they are ready to learn and thrive in the classroom.
The new schools set to benefit are Beancross, St Andrew’s, Bowhouse, Victoria, Antonine, St Patrick’s, Denny and Ladeside primaries, as well as the Inclusion and Wellbeing Service.
The programme is being delivered in a variety of ways to best meet the needs of individual school communities, including traditional breakfast clubs, grab-and-go breakfast bags and whole-school breakfast provision integrated into the school day.
The expansion builds on the success of Falkirk Council's earlier partnership with Magic Breakfast. A pilot project at Easter Carmuirs Primary, launched in 2022 through Pupil Equity Funding, demonstrated significant benefits for pupils.
The study found that preparing and eating breakfast together in a family-style setting contributed to increased engagement in learning and strengthened relationships between pupils and staff.
Magic Breakfast, a UK charity dedicated to tackling child morning hunger, has worked closely with Falkirk Council and participating schools to help develop approaches tailored to each setting.
Councillor Iain Sinclair, Falkirk Council's spokesperson for education, said: "Every child deserves the best possible start to their school day. We know that access to a healthy breakfast can have a positive impact on attendance, concentration, wellbeing and attainment.
"We are delighted to expand our partnership with Magic Breakfast and make this support available to more children and families across Falkirk. By helping to remove barriers to learning, we are ensuring more young people can arrive at school ready to learn and achieve their full potential.”
Sabrina Sallis, director of fundraising and development at Magic Breakfast, said: "Magic Breakfast are proud to support Falkirk Council as it expands breakfast provision to support more children and families. This shows what is possible when local ambition is matched by a delivery partner with the experience and expertise to make breakfast provision successful in different settings and give every child the best possible start to the day.”
Magic Breakfast currently supports more than 350,000 children and young people every day across Scotland and England, providing both food and expertise to schools seeking to tackle morning hunger.
Falkirk Council is working towards delivering free breakfast club provision in all primary school settings by August 2027 in line with Scottish Government's recent announcement of an expansion of breakfast clubs with the aim to provide free breakfasts for every child in Scotland.