An award-winning breakfast club at a Birmingham Catholic school is providing vital support to children and families in poverty.
In the morning around 100 pupils at the voluntary aided St Patrick and St Edmund’s Catholic Primary School receive free, healthy and nutritious food, provided by charity Magic Breakfast, many of whom would have had nothing to eat otherwise.
Just under half the pupils are eligible for Free School Meals, higher than the national average of 24.6%.
Lorraine Sergent is Senior Learning Mentor at the school, and said that parents have confided in staff that they need assistance with accessing food banks due to their financial situation.
She said: “There have been many occasions where children have arrived late to school unfed due to parents struggling to give them a breakfast in the morning. Children have also turned up in wet clothing due to the inability of parents to meet the demands of increased energy bills and as a result unable to heat their homes.”
Open to all
The breakfast club also includes activities for pupils encouraging them to share, cooperate and use social skills. Open to all without means testing, in June, 2024, it won the West Midlands category at the Kellogg’s Best Breakfast Club Awards. In February, 2025, the school was announced to be participating in the Department for Education's breakfast club pilot scheme.
The motto of St Patrick and St Edmund’s is ‘Live together, pray together, learn together and grow together in Christ.’ The school is assisted by the wider Catholic community, with Father Hudson’s Society, which serves the Archdiocese of Birmingham, and local churches helping with school uniforms for households in need.
Staff have also made donations and, amid the rising cost of energy bills, a washing machine has been supplied to the school for vulnerable families to wash clothes on site.
Lorraine said: “The principle aims of providing breakfast to our most vulnerable families helps us to live our motto out in a practical and Christian way.
“Providing a positive start to the day allows the children and staff to see our Gospel Values carried out in action to love one another in their daily interactions with families, peers, staff and the wider community.”
The pupils’ verdict
‘’Breakfast Club is so good because it lets my mum and dad go to work.’’ - Year 4 child.
‘’Breakfast Club has brought a difference to me because I’d usually stand in the cold waiting for the school doors to open and I don’t have any breakfast because my mom doesn’t have the time. Now I have a warm and comfy place to stay in.’’ - Year 5 child.
‘’My mom finds Breakfast Club helpful because if she has to go to work early, she can drop me here and I find it helpful because if you haven’t eaten in the morning you can eat there and it is a place to get you ready for the school day.’’ - Year 6 child.
‘’I like Breakfast Club because it’s a fun place where we can play, eat and talk to other people you don’t know in school.’’ - Year 5 child.
‘’I like the breakfast club because they give us all the food we need then after, they entertain us.’’ - Year 5 child.
‘’Breakfast Club is free – saves money for numerous parents. Breakfast Club is also fun and safe with various games and foods to enjoy.’’ - Year 6 child.
‘’Breakfast Club is fun!’’ - Year 3 child.
Find out more about Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Birmingham
