Breakfast - best start to the day and a friendship
A leading expert from Northumbria University has launched a study which reveals that attending a breakfast club significantly helps pupils to socially integrate into the school community, providing children with bonding opportunities with their peers and teachers.
A research team led by Dr Greta Defeyter, a developmental psychologist, have been working on a project commissioned by Kellogg’s to examine the effectiveness of school breakfast clubs in terms of social behaviours and cognitive outcomes.
Dr Defeyter worked with 112 children from 7 schools in the North East, comparing their performance on a variety of measures to those children not attending school breakfast clubs. The study showed a benefit to children over and above the nutritional benefits of eating a regular breakfast.
“We discovered that breakfast clubs help children to maintain social relationships with other children within school, and promote positive relationships with staff members.” commented Dr Defeyter.
Better and longer lasting friendships
In looking at relationships with other school children, analysis revealed that the level of companionship remained stable across time, but only for those children attending breakfast clubs. The number of reported friendships decreased for those children not attending breakfast clubs.
Overwhelmingly, (94%) children mentioned that they like the fact they could play with their friends and had the opportunity to choose from a variety of breakfast foods. Likewise, many teachers (58%) highlighted the fact that breakfast clubs provided children with the opportunity to socialise with children of other age groups, and they felt that this helped children in making new friendships.
Teachers more approachable
Analyses examining children’s relationships with their teachers showed that children attending breakfast clubs not only viewed their teachers as more approachable over time but also felt increasingly secure in their relationships with teachers. Conversely, those children not attending breakfast club viewed their teachers as becoming less approachable and felt less secure in their relationships with teachers over time.
Parents and carers should not worry or feel guilty that their children are spending more time away from home due to their own hectic schedule. Dr Defeyter added: “Whilst most families would like to enjoy breakfast together at home, breakfast clubs are an effective means in which we can ensure kids get the nutrition for the body as well as providing a positive pre-school environment that provides children opportunities to engage socially with adults and children of different ages.”
Kellogg’s and ContinYou have worked together for the last decade to promote and support breakfast clubs in the UK. Each day between 3,000-5,000 children are served breakfast in a club that has received support or guidance from Kellogg’s and ContinYou – that equates to around a million served breakfasts each academic year.
Bruce Learner, Community and Social Responsibility Manager at Kellogg’s, said: “We have known for some time that breakfast clubs improve attendance, punctuality, concentration and can help improve levels of educational attainment. But this research shows a new benefit in terms of socialisation. Breakfast clubs can help pupils from feeling socially isolated at school.”
Tony Acipella, National Programme Director at ContinYou, adds: “As the UK’s lead organisation in supporting the sustainable development of breakfast clubs we welcome the positive outcomes identified in this study as it builds on the already known wide range of benefits that breakfast clubs offer to children, young people, families, schools and communities. It strengthens our resolve that breakfast clubs should be made universally available for all.’
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For further details please contact Kate Hannah on 0161 869 5035.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Dr Greta Defeyter is a Senior Lecturer at the Cognition and Communication Research Centre, Northumbria University.The research team tested children at two time points; when children started attending breakfast clubs and approximately six months later. A test battery of cognitive tasks and questionnaires were developed with subsets for pupils, parents and teachers.
The schools that took part in the study were new clubs developed through the Breakfast Club Plus Masterclass delivered in partnership by Kellogg’s and ContinYou and facilitated by Public Health North East.
Birtley East primary School, Chester-le-Street.
Cambo First School, Morpeth.
Furrowfield School, Gateshead.
Kelvin Grove Community Primary School, Gateshead.
Moorside First School, New Biggin by the Sea.
St James R.C Primary School, Hebburn.
Thornaby C.E Primary School, Thornaby.
Joint research by Kellogg’s, ContinYou and the New Policy Institute (2001) has shown that breakfast clubs in schools are considered to be one of the most effective environments for promoting healthy and nutritional eating, for enriching and extending the curriculum through informal learning, and for tackling issues of social exclusion and academic under-achievement
Since 1998, Kellogg’s has invested more than £1m into the development of breakfast clubs throughout the UK.
For more information on breakfast clubs visit www.breakfastclubplus.org.uk, which offers extensive advice, tools and resources on setting up, developing and sustaining breakfast clubs
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Breakfast Clubs