NEW - Whithorn Primary School Breakfast Club

Can tea & toast really make a difference?

Whithorn Primary School has opened its doors this week to their first ever Breakfast Club. The club is managed by CLD with close partnership support from Building Healthy Communities. The project is financially supported by Kelloggs.

A consultation was completed with pupils and parents which indicated a high percentage of children were not eating breakfast before they left home in the morning and also that over half were eating a chocolate bar or bag of crisps on the way to school.

As adults we know that if we eat breakfast we work faster, make fewer mistakes and perform better. It is not any different for children. Research tells us that if a child is eating a healthy breakfast over a sustained period it will improve their concentration skills and behaviour in class which will lead to higher attainment rates in school.

Teachers tell us that “Breakfast clubs can result in at least 30 minutes more effective teaching time per day with pupils arriving on time, being calmer, more ready to learn with enhanced concentration.”

We have had close consultations with Building Healthy Communities, The Health Improvement Team & Dietetics to advise us on the best nutritional breakfast available for children.

The children are offered a simple menu throughout the week of – wholemeal toast, wholemeal cereal, yoghurts & fruit pots. One day a week there will be a hot option of boiled or scrambled eggs with toast.

Whithorn Breakfast Club is open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8am to 9am. It is open for all children who attend Whithorn Primary School from P1 to P7. Breakfast is served between 8am and 8.30am followed by an activity.

Not only is the breakfast club creating an environment for healthy and nutritional eating it will also enrich and extend the curriculum through informal learning. Children will participate in a variety of activities. Some of these include – Pop dance; Wake Up, Shake Up; Arts & Crafts; Jog Scotland; Reading; Tambourelli; Problem-solving activities; ICT. All activities relate to experiences and outcomes in the Health & Wellbeing section of the curriculum for excellence. There is also a ‘Homework corner’ for children. 

These activities aim to improve social skills for children by allowing them to mix with their peer group. We also aim to improve the children’s personal responsibility skills by getting them to help run the club and for the older children to lead some of the activities.

An important element of the breakfast club is to encourage parental participation. We currently have 2 parent volunteers working with us through Building Healthy Communities to support the project and are constantly looking for any parents, grandparents, family members or members of the community who want to get involved.

If you want to register your child or find out more information please contact –

Ann McShane, Family Learning Co-ordinator, Community and Customer Services, Community Centre, York Road, Newton Stewart, DG8 6HL

tel - 01671 403261

E-mail - ann.mcshane@dumgal.gov.uk

If you would like to volunteer in the breakfast club please contact -

Nathalie Guillaume, Community Health Development Worker, Building Healthy Communities, 1 George Street, Whithorn, DG8 8NS

01988 501111

E-mail – nguillaume@nhs.net