ERIC Number: ED677236
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Aug
Pages: 39
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Breakfast Interventions: Rapid Evidence Assessment
Rupal Patel; Laurence Vincent; Mohammad Zaman
Education Endowment Foundation
Up to 2,700 schools are currently eligible for free school breakfast funding via the National School Breakfast Programme, and policy makers are increasingly trialling or adopting universal approaches to school breakfast provision. An EEF impact evaluation of the Magic Breakfast programme in 2016 found that offering pupils in primary schools a free and nutritious meal before school can impact their reading, writing, and maths attainment by an average of two months' additional progress in Key Stage 1. In 2018, the Department for Education (DfE) launched a National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) aimed to provide free, nutritious, and universally available breakfast in schools in disadvantaged areas of England. This programme was extended in 2021 and will run until July 2024 to provide a further two years of breakfast support to 2,500 schools in England with high levels of disadvantage. Historically, different policies have taken varying approaches when identifying the target populations for free school breakfast provision. Universal approaches provide breakfast for all children within a particular phase, with the intention of increasing uptake, reducing stigma, and reducing administration costs. Targeted approaches identify specific cohorts of children (such as children with free school meal status) who can then access free school breakfasts, with the intention of focusing provision on these groups. Delivery models for free school breakfasts vary from structured breakfast clubs (EEF, 2016), to light touch 'grab and go' meal provision (EEF, 2021). Both models share a theory of change, that improving pupil satiety and nutrition can have a positive effect on their attainment and health, and that providing free breakfasts can incentivise school attendance. Therefore, despite the differences in implementation, the proposed mechanisms and outcomes of these models are consistent. An initial reading has found that the available evidence on the impact of free school breakfasts is disparate; results are often difficult to access due to paywalls; studies are often focused on health outcomes such as diet quality; higher quality studies are frequently based on American schools where there are a number of established federal and state initiatives; and studies are often focused on the longer standing and more publicised issue of free school lunches. This rapid evidence review aims to summarise the available, rigorous evaluative evidence on this topic in the education field and synthesise key learnings. The results of this review will inform the EEF's recommendations on promoting school breakfast provision. [This report was produced with What Works Network and Impetus.]
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Breakfast Programs, Intervention, Elementary Secondary Education, Program Effectiveness, Outcomes of Education, Educational Attainment, Attendance, Student Behavior, Educational Research
Education Endowment Foundation. 9th Floor Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP, UK. Tel: +44-207-802-1676; e-mail: info@eefoundation.org.uk; Web site: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) (United Kingdom); Sutton Trust (United Kingdom)
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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