Breakfast club proves huge hit

A Lees school offering children a free breakfast has proven a huge success with a rise in attendance levels.

St Agnes Primary is one of eight schools in Lees offering a free healthy breakfast with 30 minutes of childcare every morning. 

The new breakfast club has already proven popular, with 85 children from the school of 110 now enjoying fruit, toast, and cereal together before the day begins. 

After being introduced last month, Headteacher Sarah Butterworth said the new club was already making a real difference, helping to improve attendance and reduce late arrivals. 

She said: "It has been running really smoothly, and it has reduced lateness.  

"Since Easter, we have had no lates and we have had 98% attendance for the whole school, and this has really helped. 

"The children have loved it, the uptake has been really good, and the response from parents has been brilliant. 

"They can now get their child to school and get to work knowing they are having a good breakfast without eating on the hoof. 

"It gives us a chance to chat to the children before they start school and it's a calm time for them." 

Pastoral Lead, Suzanne Pilling, who runs the breakfast club, explained: "What we are seeing here are children coming in and enjoying spending that time together with us before classes.  

“We have got a couple of reception class children mixing with older pupils." 

After the Easter holidays, the first 750 schools opened breakfast clubs as part of the first phase of a national roll-out, with the aim of helping pupils start every day ready to learn and improve behaviour, attendance and attainment.  

Breakfast clubs have also launched at Alt Academy, Northmoor Academy, Greenhill Academy, Greenfield St Mary's, Richmond Academy, Westwood Academy and Whitegate End Primary and Nursery School. 

Councillor Mohon Ali, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills at Oldham Council, visited St Agnes to see the breakfast club in action. 

He said: "A healthy breakfast sets the tone for a child’s day, but a school breakfast club does even more. It fuels young minds, helps to build friendships and strengthen bonds and creates a community where every child starts the day feeling valued and enthusiastic about learning. 

"It's truly heartwarming to see the success of this school breakfast club, knowing that these students are starting their day nourished and keen to learn."