PRIMARY NEWS Education recruiter delivers free breakfasts to over 1,600 pupils
More than 1,600 pupils have been given free breakfasts to help them learn as one of the UK’s largest education workforce providers tackles the growing crisis of child hunger in classrooms.
Affinity Workforce delivered more than 8,500 breakfasts across four primary schools in
England in January as part of its Before the Bell campaign, which aims to ensure no child is too hungry to learn.
Schools in Barnsley, Birmingham, Wirral and London received a week of free breakfast provision after the company surveyed its supply teachers and discovered that nearly 70% of children were experiencing hunger that affected their ability to learn.
The campaign was launched after research from Affinity Workforce revealed that almost one in three teachers see hungry children at the start of the school day every single day, with 59% saying hunger significantly
affects pupils’ ability to learn in morning lessons and 70% saying it affects classroom behaviour.
Esme Bianchi-Barry, CEO of Affinity Workforce, said: “Our supply teachers work across hundreds of different schools, so they have a unique perspective on the scale of this problem. They told us that child hunger is not a localised issue, it is a nationwide crisis affecting learning and behaviour in classrooms across the country..”
The four schools selected were Laithes Primary School in Barnsley, Christ Church C of E Nursery and Primary School in Birmingham, Riverside Primary School in Wirral, and Julian’s Primary School in London. All serve communities facing significant deprivation, with Pupil Premium rates ranging from 56% to 58%.
Affinity Workforce’s research found that more than a third of schools have no breakfast provision at all, with cost identified as the biggest barrier preventing children from accessing breakfast. Almost half of teachers said they now see more hungry children than when they first started teaching.
Following the launch of Before the Bell, the government announced that it will extend free school meals to all children in households on Universal Credit from September 2026, benefiting over 500,000 children, and fund breakfast clubs in schools across England.
Thrive launches free primary resource pack for Children’s Mental Health Week
Thrive is marking Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 (9-15 February) with the launch of a free pack full of resources, plans and activities for primary schools.
This year’s theme ‘This is My Place’ invites primary schools to think about belonging — and how children experience school as a place where they feel safe, included, and valued.
The Thrive resource pack is suitable for use at Key Stages 1 and 2 and includes easy to action ideas, classroom activities and assembly plans that can be adapted to suit children, staff and school context. Thrive Director Tom Preston says: “For many children, school is one of the most important places in their lives. It is where friendships form, learning happens, and relationships with trusted adults grow. “How children feel in this place matters. This guide supports primary
schools to explore this year’s theme in a practical, relational way. “Small moments, repeated consistently, make a meaningful difference. The key focus for this resource pack is that belonging begins with emotional safety — and grows when children feel they matter.” Thrive has also prepared free resource packs for early years settings and secondary schools. All-through and specialist settings will be able to select all packs.
As part of Children’s Mental Health Week Thrive is also running a free webinar on 11 February on the subject of ‘mattering’, alongside the Trust & Inclusion Lead of The Consortium Academy Trust. Thrive’s research-based training, tools and support are designed to help educators understand and meet the social and emotional needs of children and young people.
HarperCollins UK trialling free Audiobook Breakfast Club for primary schools
HarperCollins UK has announced a free Audiobook Breakfast Club trial for primary schools, running until April 2026, as part of its support of the National Year of Reading.
The initiative aims to boost reading for pleasure by providing curated audio story playlists to enrich morning sessions, reduce staff workload, and spark children’s enjoyment of books, and has been shared with schools via the UK Literacy Association (UKLA) and Read for Good Networks.
The trial offers schools: • Curated playlists of short audiobooks from HarperCollins Children’s Books, Farshore, and Barrington Stoke, specifically selected for breakfast club sessions.
• Easy, no-cost access via the Glose platform, ensuring secure streaming for use in school.
• A stress-free enrichment option that helps children settle positively for the school day.
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• An opportunity to win free print books for the school library in exchange for brief feedback on pupil engagement.
Regular reading is linked to improvements in attainment, wellbeing, and empathy. With reading for pleasure in long-term decline, this trial will explore whether listening to audiobooks in the morning increases pupils’ interest in stories, motivation to read and overall wellbeing. HarperCollins UK Consumer Insight Director, Alison David,
stated,
“Breakfast clubs reach children at a crucial point in the day. By integrating high-quality storytelling into their routine, we can help children discover the joy of reading in an accessible way. This trial reflects our commitment to championing reading for pleasure for children,during the National Year of Reading 2026 and beyond.” The initiative reflects HarperCollins UK’s decade-plus leadership in reading for pleasure research and developing practical programmes across schools and communities aimed at reversing the decline in reading for pleasure by embedding reading into existing routines.
February 2026
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