The provision of breakfast at secondary schools in Northern Ireland

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in breakfast skipping in pupils attending secondary school – few European countries have been exempt. Breakfast skipping tends to increase with age and to be more common in girls than in boys. The literature on the subject indicates that this is undesirable in terms of health, academic performance, and behaviour at school. Not only do pupils who skip breakfast suffer, but so do their fellow (breakfast eating) pupils and teachers.

Lack of sleep is one explanation of why many pupils don't eat breakfast at home. Many go to bed late and get up at the last minute to arrive at school on time. If pupils do not eat breakfast at home (or on the way to school), a possible solution is for them to eat breakfast on arrival at school. While this could be a 'packed breakfast' brought from home, there is an obvious case for schools providing breakfast themselves.

A survey of the 193 secondary schools in Northern Ireland revealed that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 130 offered breakfast before the formal school day. However, only 7.0% of the pupils at these 'breakfast schools' took advantage of the service. Given the late bedtimes, there is a case for considering serving breakfast at the start of the school day – rather than before.

A simple, nutritious breakfast can be provided for an average total cost of £1, which equals £200 per pupil a year. While many parents will be able to afford such a payment, those pupils entitled to free school lunches would also need to be provided with a complimentary breakfast. It would be helpful if a sample of secondary schools in Northern Ireland could trial 'breakfast in the classroom' for one school year.