Boston Pioneers Academy's breakfast club

We're currently fundraising for over 200 local breakfast clubs through our Community Champions scheme.

Boston Pioneers Academy teaches around 420 children, and between 100-150 children per day use the school’s breakfast club.

The school takes a more laid back approach to breakfast club, and there’s no requirement to book in ahead of time. This provides parents with ultimate flexibility, and ensures that every child gets a great start to their day.

If a child arrives at school late and hasn’t yet had breakfast, the club will always ensure that they’re fed before they go into the classroom.

As well as being flexible, the service is free to use for many of the children accessing the service, making donations absolutely critical.

Even for those that are able to pay, donations mean that the cost is kept low, making it accessible for all.

Each day, the breakfast club serves up cereal, fruit and toast. Children can pick what they would like to eat, and are encouraged to have a drink too, with hydration being equally important for health and for concentration in the classroom.

The club provides a safe space with familiar faces; generally, there are between three and four teaching assistants running the breakfast club. These staff members know the children and work with them in the classroom too, ensuring continuity for the children, which is particularly valuable to those with safeguarding concerns.

Headteacher Jo Bland said: “The number of children attending our breakfast club is increasing from term to term, and with the cost of living, we have seen a dramatic rise in numbers recently.

“It’s really important to us that our children have a positive start to the day, they’re not going to be able to concentrate unless they’re properly fuelled, and the club helps them to settle into the school environment too.

“Many of the children that attend breakfast club do so for free, and for those that pay, the cost is very small. Donations such as Community Champions enable us to keep that cost low and continue to support so many local families.”

Sarah Hobbs, Community Co-ordinator at Lincolnshire Co-op, said: “While visiting the club, the children were so well behaved and nattering happily with each other. Some of the tables were full with no seats available, so when a little girl arrived without a seat to eat her breakfast another child, a little boy, gave her his seat to eat her breakfast and he moved to a bench for her.

“It was a delight to see the calm and jovial interaction at the beginning of their school day, and served as a real and heart-warming example of the impact breakfast clubs have on the children both individually and socially.”

You can support Community Champions by shopping with your dividend card, donating your change in store, or supporting our colleague's fundraising efforts.