Chancellor urged to expand breakfast funding in Budget

Charity Magic Breakfast, backed by 150 headteachers and school leaders, has written to the Chancellor, asking for the funding for the National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) to increase by £18 million in the upcoming Budget so it can reach more pupils.

The Food Foundation reported that 4 million children lived in food insecure households in September 2022; a sharp increase from the 2.6 million reported just six months earlier. Inflation for food, meanwhile, sits at 16.9% and rising. It hasn’t been this high since 1977.  

The charity says that when children and young people are hungry, they aren’t able to learn efficiently and behaviour worsens. The learning environment is made more difficult.  

Magic Breakfast says that schools remain committed to delivering for young people, and the charity sector has stepped in. But they can't do it alone.

The charity says that there are approximately 10,000 schools in England with high levels of disadvantage, and the current NSBP only reaches one-quarter of these. If the Chancellor of the Exchequer commits to expanding funding for the NSBP by £18million over the next 18months, up to 2,500 more schools in England can be supported with breakfast provision, allowing thousands more children to start their day with the fuel they need to reach their full potential.