More Falkirk schools join Magic Breakfast programme
Hundreds more children across Falkirk are set to benefit from free breakfast provision after 10 additional schools joined the Magic Breakfast programme.
Supported through Bright Start Breakfast Club funding from the Scottish Government, the expansion will provide pupils with access to a nutritious breakfast before the start of the school day, helping to ensure they are ready to learn and thrive in the classroom.
The new schools taking part are:
- Beancross Primary School
- St Andrew's Primary School
- Bowhouse Primary School
- Victoria Primary School
- Bonnybridge Primary School
- Inclusion and Wellbeing Service
- Antonine Primary School
- St Patrick's Primary School
- Denny Primary School
- Ladeside Primary School
Increased engagement
The programme is being delivered in a variety of ways to best meet the needs of individual school communities, including traditional breakfast clubs, grab-and-go breakfast bags and whole-school breakfast provision integrated into the school day.
The expansion builds on the success of Falkirk Council's earlier partnership with Magic Breakfast. A pilot project at Easter Carmuirs Primary School, launched in 2022 through Pupil Equity Funding, demonstrated significant benefits for pupils. The study found that preparing and eating breakfast together in a family-style setting contributed to increased engagement in learning and strengthened relationships between pupils and staff.
Magic Breakfast, a UK charity dedicated to tackling child morning hunger, has worked closely with Falkirk Council and participating schools throughout the rollout to help develop approaches tailored to each setting.
Councillor Iain Sinclair, Falkirk Council's Spokeperson for Education, said:
Every child deserves the best possible start to their school day. We know that access to a healthy breakfast can have a positive impact on attendance, concentration, wellbeing and attainment.
We are delighted to expand our partnership with Magic Breakfast and make this support available to more children and families across Falkirk. By helping to remove barriers to learning, we are ensuring more young people can arrive at school ready to learn and achieve their full potential.
Sabrina Sallis, Director of Fundraising & Development at Magic Breakfast, said:
Magic Breakfast are proud to support Falkirk Council as it expands breakfast provision to support more children and families. This shows what is possible when local ambition is matched by a delivery partner with the experience and expertise to make breakfast provision successful in different settings and give every child the best possible start to the day.
Magic Breakfast currently supports more than 350,000 children and young people every day across Scotland and England, providing both food and expertise to schools seeking to tackle morning hunger.
Falkirk Council is working towards delivering free breakfast club provision in all primary school settings by August 2027 in line with Scottish Government's recent announcement of an expansion of breakfast clubs with the aim to provide free breakfasts for every child in Scotland.
It forms part of the Council's ongoing commitment to supporting children and young people improve their engagement and learning and help reduce the impact of financial pressures on families.