Background

Easter Carmuirs Primary and Early Learning Centre is in the west of central Falkirk. The surrounding area is residential with businesses located on the nearby Glasgow Road. These businesses include various supermarkets, garages and food outlets.

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation shows high levels of deprivation in the community, with 61% of pupils living in quintile 1. The profile of free school meal entitlement is 9% above the authority average.

Attainment Scotland Funding

Pupil Equity Funding: Under £5,000

Rationale

Following the pandemic, the school became aware that significant numbers of pupils were coming to school hungry. The school gathered evidence through observation, interactions with pupils and through parental surveys. The increased cost of living was making it difficult for families to provide a nutritious breakfast.

A survey found that 78% of pupils were not having a substantive, healthy breakfast. Staff reported that pupils were more dysregulated and struggling to settle into the school day. These factors prompted the development of ‘Breakfast for All’.

Breakfast for all case study

The ‘Breakfast for All’ project began in the 2022-23 school session as a test of change in one classroom. The teacher used pupil equity funding (PEF) to start each day with a family-style breakfast. The teacher found that this led to increased engagement and improved peer and staff relationships.

The roll out of this approach was organic and not imposed on other classes. Staff across the school saw the impact that the pilot was having and requested to join. This was encouraged by the headteacher who made resources available to all wishing to take part.

In the current academic session, all classes now have family-style breakfasts. Every classroom has a food area where pupils and staff prepare breakfast each morning and share a meal together at the start of the school day.

The school spent approximately £8,000 of PEF to buy equipment and food. Food was initially bought from a local store, but the school has now secured support from a charity. The charity supply an unlimited quantity of breakfast items for a small annual subscription.

Impact

The impact has exceeded the original planned outcomes.

Attendance

The school has seen an increase in attendance and a significant reduction in late coming. There have been improvements in attainment in numeracy and literacy as well as an improvement in the health and wellbeing of pupils.

December 2023 data shows that although 30% of children have less than 90% attendance, this has improved by 1.7pp based on the same data from December 2022.

Late-coming data

In session 2021-22, 62 pupils were late at some point in the school year. In March 2024, only 24 pupils were late at some point in the session.

Attainment data

Easter Carmuirs outperforms similar schools in the local authority in all literacy organisers. There is a correlation between improved attendance and attainment. This is most noticeable for children living in quintile 1.

Health and wellbeing data

There has been a positive impact on the relationships between staff and pupils. In almost all classes, pupils are using the first names of staff when talking to them. Staff report that pupils are more engaged in their learning and relationships are better. When pupils are upset and struggling, resolutions are easier, and children return to learning more quickly.

The school’s health and wellbeing tracker includes engagement in learning and ability to be resilient. It shows progress for the whole school and an improving trend in pupils’ health and wellbeing. These figures show an overall improvement across the whole school, but especially for those living in SIMD quintiles 1 and 2.