Children arriving at school hungry – Education to team up with local charity?

• Worrying number of children arriving at school without eating breakfast
• We profile one local primary school breakfast club
• Parenting feature about how the issue should be tackled
• Take part in our poll

THE Education Department could team up with a charity which cooks for struggling families in an effort to reduce the number of children attending school without breakfast.

Education Minister Rod Bryans said that reports that children are attending school without having eaten breakfast is causing concern and revealed that the department is now hoping to work with the charity Caring Cooks of Jersey, which helps struggling families to feed their children.

• Tracy Pallot: ‘My daughter (4) goes to St Peter’s School breakfast club. She loves it and always likes me to guess what she has had to eat. She loves an early-morning hot chocolate, then they go and dance in the hall before class starts. It sounds amazing and is great value for money.’
• Danneka Ramage: ‘I would love to see more of these for us working parents who start work before school starts.’
• Emma Cash-Cummins: ‘There aren’t enough. Every school should have them.’
• Fiona Garforth: ‘My son goes to the breakfast club at St Mary’s. It starts at 7.30 am and a healthy breakfast is provided followed by some play time before school starts. It’s a lifesaver. I’d never get to work on time if there wasn’t that facility. So many parents have to work, so it seems logical that breakfast and after-school clubs should be at every school.’

You can join the discussion here

It is not known what percentage of children are going to school hungry but the charity says that it is hearing more stories of children going without breakfast, or not having enough food in their lunch boxes.

Deputy Bryans said: ‘We recognise many parents are under pressure for a variety of reasons and there are occasions children might arrive at school with an empty stomach.

‘They are few and far between but this affects their ability to concentrate and their learning so we want to help families avoid this if possible.’

Deputy Bryans, who in the past has said that teachers were sometimes acting as ‘social workers’, is keen to hear more from the charity.

‘Our teachers are highly skilled at identifying the needs of children in their care but we want the whole community to be aware of the value of good nutrition,’ he said.

‘I had an excellent meeting with Caring Cooks and look forward to hearing from them again.

‘I would like to support them, if I can, with what they are doing.’

The Caring Cooks of Jersey charity is run by mother of two Melissa Nobrega and it has an army of volunteers, mainly parents, cooking for underprivileged families around the Island.

Mrs Nobrega said that since launching the charity a year ago, it has opened up her eyes to the extent of food poverty in Jersey and said she is extremely concerned that some children are going to school hungry.

‘I don’t know the hard facts on how many children there are but through the relationships Caring Cooks has formed, both personally and professionally, we do hear stories of children going without breakfast or not having enough sustenance in their lunch boxes.

‘Through being a parent myself, with one child at school and one at nursery, I know some parents are selecting schools and nurseries that offer hot meals at lunchtime as they don’t have the time, the inclination or the budget to prepare a hot cooked meal in the evening.’

The charity is now hoping to work with schools to stop children going to school hungry and help families put healthy nutritious meals on the table.

Mrs Nobrega added: ‘I met with Deputy Bryans to discuss how we could make schools more aware of Caring Cooks and the help we can potentially give parents, through our weekly meal service, but also through our new Community Cooking Programme.’

PARENTING: Children in classrooms around the Island are missing out on important learning time by going to school hungry

A WORRYING combination of growing food poverty, the rising cost of living and chaotic parenting means that innocent children are being denied the best start to the day – and to their lives.

‘This is unacceptable and must be tackled now,’ says the founder of a food charity in Jersey.

Caring Cooks of Jersey have revealed the extent of the food poverty in the Island by claiming that some children are going to school hungry and that the contents of their lunchboxes are lacking nourishment.

The charity’s founder, Melissa Nobrega, met Education Minister Rod Bryans recently to talk about how Caring Cooks can teach parents and carers of schoolchildren how to cook healthy, nutritious meals for their family.

‘Caring Cooks are trying to reach as many families as possible who may need help but may not be aware it is available,’ said Mrs Nobrega.

‘We have already established a close relationship with agencies and charities, like Family Nursing and Brighter Futures, who refer families to us for our weekly meal service. But schools are pivotal in children’s lives and we want to work with teachers and Education to highlight the help available for families who are struggling to ensure that they and their children are eating properly.’

Deputy Bryans said that sending children to school with empty stomachs affected their concentration and learning.

Mrs Nobrega added: ‘Nutrition from a young age is important, not only to health but to enable children to have the concentration and the energy to learn at school.

‘If we don’t address these issues now, where will we be in ten to 20 years when our young children grow up and enter the workforce?’ she said.

So why are some children turning up to school having not eaten since the night before?

‘Often it is circumstantial,’ said Mrs Nobrega. ‘With increased financial pressures, rising food costs and high rents and utilities, parents are faced with financial challenges every day.

‘Home Economics isn’t taught in all schools like it used to be, so we are creating a gap so that parents and children can learn important home skills like this.’

Experts say that school breakfast clubs are one way of filling the food gap, and Mrs Nobrega believes they have a positive impact on a child’s ability to learn.

‘St Luke’s has a breakfast club which runs from 7.45 am, and it’s fantastic,’ she said. ‘It provides the children with a healthy breakfast and also provides flexibility for the parents, who may be rushing to get to work.

‘It’s a wonderful example of supporting children and parents to accommodate their busy lives, and is a real credit to the school.’

So what can be done to stop children going to school hungry and make it more affordable for families to put healthy food on the table?

‘Remove GST from food. This isn’t a simple decision to make, but the States need to think seriously about it if we are going to make long-term changes,’ said Mrs Nobrega.

‘It’s been great to see local GPs waive fees for under-5s, but maybe we could introduce vitamins for all children under five, or bring back free milk.

‘There are lots of ideas, admittedly all at a cost, but ideas nonetheless.’

‘Our meal service is designed to help families through a crisis period, but the cooking programme is there to help parents understand that with a bit of planning, and basic ingredients, cooking healthily on a budget is possible.

‘We know that change comes in small steps. So if our course allows parents just once a week to cook a meal from scratch, long-term change will come from that.’

The charity’s free five-week cooking course is for parents and carers of all school ages to learn the basics to feed a family nutritiously and cost-effectively. For more information, email Melissa of Caring Cooks of Jersey charity, in confidence, at caringcooksofjersey@gmail.com,

SCHOOL breakfast clubs can help to make the children feel more settled and ready to learn, said the head teacher of St Peter’s Primary School.

Steve Dewhurst said that these clubs help to take the stress off parents who are rushing to work and’ trying to play catch up’.

St Peter’s School launched their breakfast club five years ago and each morning they have up to 25 children who eat a variety of cereals and toast, and even cooked meals on some occasions.

It opens at 7.30 am but some children arrive later, and the club is staffed by learning support assistants who entertain the children with games, puzzles, reading, DVDs and outside play.

Mr Dewhurst said: ‘It is a gentle and positive start to the day for the children, who are escorted to their class at 8.30 each day. The breakfast club children get their bags, coats and lunchboxes sorted early so that they are ready to learn at 8.45 am.

‘They also have time to socialise and chat to their fellow club-goers. The older children show the little ones how to eat, behave and play.

‘Those who benefit most are the parents, who can get into work earlier and get a parking space, so the stress levels decrease significantly.’

‘Children who arrive on the bell with a flustered parent who is desperate not to be late for work don’t settle as well as the majority do. They are always playing catch-up. The breakfast club solves this problem.

‘Mum then doesn’t have to dash across the playground, jump into her car and join the traffic jam down Beaumont Hill.’

It costs £2.50 per session and Mr Dewhurst said that parents consider the club to be good value for money and are grateful for the help.

‘We do not make a profit wit this scheme, as all surplus funds are spent on the school’s toys and games, which get lots of use.’

EDUCATION Minister Rod Bryans and his department are rightly concerned about the number of Island school children arriving for class without having eaten a proper breakfast or having enough food in their lunch boxes.

They are looking at working with charity Caring Cooks to promote a balanced and healthy diet. For some families, putting food on the table is a constant financial strain. But for many more, it is an issue of time poverty. Getting children up, dressed, fed and to school while still getting to work on time is a daily battle.

There are enlightened employers who promote flexible working to help families. Social Security Minister Susie Pinel and a number of her ministerial colleagues understand the need for family-friendly working.

Schemes which help families, and initiatives such as school breakfast clubs, could have more far-reaching positive effects than might first be imagined. A healthy work-life balance is good for both employer and employee.

• The Breakfast Club was also the name of one of the most popular movies of the 1980s.
• The 1985 American coming-of-age comedy-drama followed five teenagers, each a member of a different high school clique, who spend a Saturday in detention together.
• Critics consider it one of the greatest high school films, as well as one of John Hughes’ most memorable and recognizable works.
• The media referred to the film’s five main actors as the Brat Pack.