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Six Bolton schools have led the way in offering students free breakfast clubs as part of a Government pilot programme – and a Heaton school has found it’s ‘bringing the community together’. Devonshire Road Primary School has seen more than a hundred children attend its club each day after running it for less than a week. It is one of 750 state primary schools across England selected by the Government as an ‘early adopter’ of the free breakfast club scheme before a national rollout.
Five other Bolton schools have been selected for the scheme - including Lever Edge Primary Academy , St Paul’s CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge, Kearsley West Primary School, Gilnow Primary School and Forwards Centre . At 8.30 to 9.
00am each day, staff and final year students at Devonshire Road Primary hand out cereal, toast and fruit. Children eat, talk and play Lego and Jenga around them. Katy Branagan, Devonshire Road Primary school's business manager, said these 30 minutes are about more than just fuelling up for the day.
She said: “It’s about the social element, getting the children out of their family home and mixing in new groups – and seeing them smile. Isobel Smith, Hafsa Sufyan and Haadiyah Sufyan (Image: Devonshire Road Primary School) “And a good breakfast sets them up for the day before they start their early morning task. It also gives the parents peace of mind knowing they've dropped their children off in a safe environment.
” Tom Abraham, deputy headteacher at Devonshire Road Primary, has said the club has already shown “positive results”. He said: “The students have loved it. There’s all sorts of games, activities and music for them.
They really benefit from the social interaction. Kiran Skinner and Casey Halliwell (Image: Devonshire Road Primary School) "And coming in just that little bit earlier has improved attendance. “For some of our younger children, [the time spent] talking and communicating is key to their early development.
” Katy Branagan (Image: Newsquest) Teaching assistants run the club with the help of older children – which Tom has said is “important”. He said: “Having staff as volunteers means the students get to see familiar faces, which is crucial to this community. “We have a rota of Year Five and Year Six children who help to clean tables and serve breakfast and drinks.
Supporting others gives them a sense of ownership and autonomy.” Tom Abraham (Image: Newsquest) Olivia Watts, 10, and Maryam Mulla, 10, in Year Six who volunteer at the free breakfast club. Olivia said: “It has been really good.
I like doing the jobs like handing out bagels, toasts and cereals to the younger children with my friends. “When you're in Year Six, you know almost everyone. You've been in the school the longest so when people see you, they're always chatty with you – and you are friendly with them.
“Sometimes when the younger children have had their breakfast, they want to stay with us rather than go to class.” Maryam said: “We [also] walk them down to class. They're very good about it.
“Everyone should start their day with breakfast. It keeps you energised and gets you ready for learning.” Olivia Watts and Maryam Mulla (Image: Newsquest) Schools chosen for the pilot scheme must offer 30 minutes of free childcare.
For parents, this can mean much less pressure during the morning rush. Mohammad Omar, 35, has brought his daughter Maryam, six, to the club. Maryam was ‘nervous’ to come at first.
Mohammad said: “This is the second time we’ve gone. It took some convincing. “She was a bit nervous about trying it out at first, but today she wanted to come in early.
Mohammad Omar and daughter Maryam (Image: Newsquest) “It’s a rush to get my two daughters ready in the mornings and I have a commute because I work in Blackburn. "I have often been the one who gets in a bit late in the morning because I had to drop the kids off at school. This saves me an extra 15 minutes.
“When you've got a really busy schedule in the morning and both parents work, this helps. But she's happy to come, that's the main thing.” The club has proved popular with children like Maryam.
In a school of 420, over 100 students attend the free breakfast club each day. On Friday (April 25), 145 came. Katy said: “The school applied to be an early adopter of the scheme last August.
“We’ve been running a very successful paid breakfast club for some time, where parents only have to pay £2 for breakfast. It’s now moved to 7.30am to 8.
30am. Because of it, we knew we could make a free club work. “This new scheme has only gone on for four days, so it is very new to us.
But we want it to be sustainable.” The free breakfast club pilot scheme is expected to run until July before being expanded as soon as possible and rolled out nationally..
