Parents 'relying on breakfast clubs' in order to work
Gabriella Jozwiak
Monday, January 16, 2017
More than a quarter of parents fear that they or their partner would have to give up work if their children could not attend a school breakfast club, research has claimed.
A study of more than 2,000 working parents by cereal brand Kellogg's found that 27 per cent of parents would either find the additional childcare unaffordable, or would struggle to get to work on time.
Almost a fifth (18 per cent) with more than one child in a breakfast club said the service saved them more than £50 a week.
According to the report, 38 per cent of parents use school breakfast clubs. The research also revealed breakfast clubs help children to have a healthier diet. A total of 21 per cent of parents admitted to giving children biscuits in place of breakfast when short of time in the morning.
Other unhealthy substitutes included chocolate and sweets (17 per cent), energy drinks (15 per cent), crisps (15 per cent) and fizzy drinks (12 per cent).
It also found that only 22 per cent of parents sit and eat breakfast with their children on a daily basis, while 37 per cent said they rarely or never ate breakfast with their children during the school week.
Commenting on the findings, Family and Childcare Trust head of policy and public affairs Megan Jarvie said breakfast clubs helped "fill the gaps" when too little childcare was available.
"They help boost outcomes for children from all backgrounds and support parents to work" she said.
A fifth of the parents surveyed said spending extra time with peers at a club benefited their children.
A study by the Education Endowment Fund published in November last year showed that eating a meal, or just attending a breakfast club, improved children's academic performance.
In 2014 a separate Kellogg's study suggested 85 per cent of all schools across the UK offered breakfast clubs.