Annie Schofield has been a cleaner at St Martin's school in Caerphilly for thirty years. She volunteers unpaid at the breakfast club the school has launched, funded by donations, to try and encourage teenagers to come to school.
Annie said she had never seen as many children saying they are hungry as they do now, with many families now just outside eligibility for free school lunches, but unable to afford enough food.
“I come in to work at 6am and then at 7.45am I come to the club as a volunteer to help run it until 8.30am. I want to help, it’s awful to know some children are hungry, you can see they’re hungry," she said.
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While primary schools around Wales offer free breakfast clubs funded by the Welsh Government, there is no support for secondary schools to do the same.
At St Martin's, the schools' head Lee Jarvis decided a breakfast club would help tackle absenteeism. When the school looked into why children were skipping school, or coming in late, St Martin’s found many were hungry and either didn’t have time, or didn’t have food available at home for breakfast.
Abseentism is a problem all around Wales. About one in six secondary school pupils are defined as being persistently absent from school, meaning they miss one in five school sessions. That's three times higher than before the pandemic. The figures are highest for pupils on free school meals.
Mr Jarvis said: “For some coming to the free breakfast club they won’t have eaten properly since school lunch the day before, while others might not have time for, or be given breakfast at home. Parents might be in a hurry getting to work and sometimes there’s not time for breakfast.”
The breakfast club was initially supported by teachers who brought in a loaf of bread but is now funded entirely through donations and runs with volunteer staff coming in early. Shops that donate include Iceland and Asda. Food is also bought with cash donations from local businesses including former pupil David Lewis who runs Arch Drainage.
Hugo, 15 and Ewan, 14, are among the 100 pupils who now come in early every day for free toast, fruit and squash between 7am and 8.30am before lessons.
Ewan said some children don’t have food at home: “It’s a good thing to have free breakfast here incase some kids don’t have breakfast at home,” he said. The friends added that it was important it was free for everyone to avoid any possible stigma.
“If I was running late I wouldn’t have breakfast at home,” said Hugo, “Now I come here every morning at 8.10pm before registration and it’s good for people who don’t have time to get to school on time and eat breakfast too.”
Year seven pupils Chloe Jones, 12 and Isabella Owen, 11, also like to meet over toast to start their day. They said the arrangement helps them look forward to school in their first year at secondary.
“I come in hungry and like hanging out with friends before school starts, “ said Chloe, “It’s a nice way to start the day and I have toast and jam which is really nice.”
Isabella admitted she was too rushed to eat at home: “I come in to have breakfast at school every day because I don’t have time at home. I am less hungry in the day now.”
It’s the first time at the breakfast club for their classmate Marcus Packham. He said he was hungry and being offered toast made him feel “more enthusiastic” about coming to school.
Another group of year seven boys agreed. Laurence Wu, 11, Dylan Ward, 12, Jaden Hosey, 11 and Dewi Thomas. 11, come in every day because they don’t manage to get breakfast at home.
“Before the club opened I was hungry in the morning at school,” said Dylan, “It’s really good because I don’t have time at home to eat breakfast.”
Dewi said he was also hungry in lessons but now comes in every day for breakfast with friends and a chat. Jaden and Laurence agreed starting the day with friends and food made it “easier to come in to school”. They are now more likely to arrive on time and feel ready for the day when they get to their lessons.
School site manager Tina Davies goes at the end of the day to pick up donations of food from supermarkets and shops. “I went with my begging bowl and now they donate regularly,” she said.
Mr Jarvis said the club began with him asking all staff to donate one loaf of bread each to make toast for children coming in hungry. From there it took off and he estimates it costs around £70 a week to run - with all that coming in from donations of food and money.
The school's DT technician Jeff Brockman runs the club as part of his overall job and makes hundreds of pieces a toast every morning. He said he sees some pupils arrive hungry the moment he opens the door at 7am.
Jeff and other staff said they know of some children who won’t have eaten properly since school lunch the day before. There are more children now eligible for free school meals and also those whose families are not eligible, but are just on the cusp of not having enough money to buy enough food.
Being given the opportunity to meeting for free food and a chat is a positive way for children to start the day and makes them feel cared for, said Jeff. That in turn can make children more positive about coming to school and their education.
“We think it’s made a great difference. It’s a safe, warm place and we know some have not had breakfast at home,” said Jeff.
Mr Jarvis said the Welsh Government must extend universal free school meals to secondary children if it is serious about tackling low attendance and behaviour. Running a free breakfast club for all removed any possible stigma for the reasons why children don’t eat at home.
“For some coming to the free breakfast club they won’t have eaten properly since school lunch the day before, while others might not have time for, or be given breakfast at home. Parents might be in a hurry getting to work and sometimes there’s not time for breakfast.”
Since offering universal free school meals to all primary age children in Wales under its deal with Plaid, the Welsh Government has said it does not have enough money to extend that offer to older children. Asked about free breakfast clubs for secondaries, if not lunches, a spokesperson said the budget did not run to that either.
After St Martin's asked all staff to donate a loaf of bread last term to make children toast before the morning bell they noticed attendance and punctuality improved. Mr Jarvis said it was hard to fund free breakfast from the school budget or ask staff to continue bringing in loaves so staff asked shops and businesses for donations.
One of the school's oldstorage room was transformed into a mini dining area with counters made from recycled builder’s pallets. Unwanted tables and chairs donated by Cardiff University and the University of South Wales.
With just over 1,046 pupils at the school numbers coming in for free breakfast before lessons has risen from a handful initially to around 100 every day now and there’s usually a queue. The headteacher said children felt let down coming to secondary from primary, where they get free breakfast and lunch.
“You don’t suddenly stop being hungry at the age of 11 and we have children from all years coming into the breakfast club. When we asked children why they weren’t coming in some were saying they found it hard getting out of bed because they were hungry.
"I do think universal free school meals should be given to secondary pupils. For someone in year seven they come to secondary school where six weeks earlier they got free food, now they don’t.
"I think the Welsh Government should at least fund free breakfast for all secondary children if not universal free school lunches. Children come from to us primary where they are nurtured with breakfast and lunch and suddenly don’t have that and it does affect attendance.
He said the £70 it costs to run was a small price to pay for the positive effects. That was money the Welsh Government should consider spending to help attendance as a new working group gets underway find solutions to the probem.
What the Welsh Government says about free food for secondary age children
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are proud to be the only country in the UK that has a breakfast scheme that all primary schools can be part of. Last year 51,600 pupils benefited from this support, a rise of 7,000 since 2022.
“The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement unleased a fresh round of austerity. This means that for the second year in a row, Wales’s funding settlement is not sufficient to respond to the extraordinary pressures we face. Due to budget pressures, we are not currently considering rolling out our universal breakfasts for secondary schools.” Universal free school meals are offered to all primary aged children in Wales, but the offer depends where they live and you can read more about that here
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