1. Implementing new initiatives
  2. Free breakfast clubs programme
  3. Integrate your free breakfast club with school systems to manage workload

Integrate your free breakfast club with school systems to manage workload

Example

School details

School name: Summerhill Academy

Location: Bristol

Phase: Primary

Number of pupils: 221

Contact details: Headteacher – Chris Barratt - info@sa.clf.uk

Bullseye icon

Key impacts and outcomes

We avoided adding extra time into the staff day. Instead, the free breakfast club reinforced work that staff were already doing.

Feedback from staff, children and families shows that many children feel less anxious about coming to school. Pupils report enjoying the face-to-face social time with their friends and adults before starting the daily maths session.

Our staff see the positive difference that attending the free breakfast club has had on children’s learning behaviours. They are ready to get started with their early morning maths straight away, with better focus. This helps staff do their jobs more effectively, supporting their wellbeing.

Attendance at our early maths learning offer has also increased, as children can transfer straight from the free breakfast club once they’ve eaten.

Background from Chris Barratt, Headteacher

When we introduced our free breakfast club, our aim was not to create a standalone club but to integrate it into our existing systems and routines. This approach allowed us to staff the club by using almost entirely our existing team and contracted hours. Today, around 150 pupils attend daily, and the free breakfast club has quickly become an important part of our wider school provision.

How we planned and delivered the club using existing staffing structures

Planning:

  • Central planning reduced staff workload and helped identify and resolve operational challenges before the launch.
  • We designed the free breakfast clubs programme through a project delivery group. The group was led by a project manager from our trust’s central team and included representatives from:
    • HR
    • finance
    • estates and contracts
    • principal
    • vice principal and
    • pastoral lead.
  • The group reviewed existing staff contracts, assessed costs, liaised with the catering company, and mapped out timelines.

Our model fitted smoothly into our daily operations by starting with what we already had, rather than designing something entirely new.

Staff responsibilities:

  • A senior leader opens the main gate at 8:15am. They previously opened at 8:30am, so this was only a slight shift and required no contractual change.
  • Our pastoral lead leads and supervises the club. Her contract already starts at 8am, so no changes were needed there either. Her existing relationships with pupils help maintain a welcoming, calm environment. It also allows her to continue checking in with pupils before the start of the day
  • We use four teaching assistants across the week, with one or two supporting the club each day. All teaching assistants were already contracted from 8:15am, and their job descriptions include supporting children. The only change was creating a rota system specifically for the free breakfast club.
  • Our only additional staffing cost is one catering colleague starting an hour earlier (around 7:15am) to prepare breakfast. All food safety and hygiene processes follow the same standards as our existing lunch provision.

In addition to the above, teachers often drop into the club to check on pupils before the start of the day.

Delivery and routine:

  • 7.30am – Paid for breakfast club in the hall which has catering facilities, large capacity, and distance from classroom areas. This is run by the wraparound team for pupils from Summerhill (juniors) and from the separate LA maintained infant school.
  • 8.15am – Free breakfast club staff arrive and free breakfast club opens in the hall. Infant school pupils move into the library with the wraparound staff.
  • 8.30am – Pupils move into their classrooms to access maths offer. We have always opened the school gates for pupils to come in early to sit in their classrooms and access early morning maths.
  • 8.50am – Pupils are in class ready to learn.

How we refined our adjusted staff responsibilities

SLT reported to their gate duty 15 minutes earlier. They have always opened the gate to welcome children into school at 8:30am and now open the gate at 8:15am for the club. Children flow in gradually across the first 15 minutes, rather than all at once. There is now an opportunity to greet all pupils and their families personally. This helps build relationships and allows us to better know and serve their needs.

Our pastoral lead would previously have been welcoming key vulnerable children into school from 8:30am, checking in with them and settling them for the day. She is now front-of-house and lead for our free breakfast club. She still sees the same children. They now enjoy coming in for breakfast and social time before the day starts. The free breakfast club has also enhanced our existing offer in terms of social, emotional, mental health support for vulnerable children.

Early mornings for the teaching assistant team are almost always check-ins with key children. This now involves some mornings (max. 2 per week) as part of free breakfast club. As for the pastoral lead, this also makes their wider role easier. Staff see it as a worthwhile investment.

Share this resource