Primary schools across Scotland are seeing more than one-third of pupils turn up for class in the morning without having eaten, a poll of teachers suggests.
Seven in ten survey participants said the situation was so bad they had bought food and snacks for children.
The figures, which were gathered last month by Perspectus Global on behalf of the Arla dairy cooperative, are the latest sign of relentless cost pressures bearing down on families. They are also likely to spark concern for disadvantaged learners in P6-7 after a pledge to extend free school meals to all primary pupils from next month was delayed.
Bosses at Arla are now working with the charity Magic Breakfast in a bid to secure improvement, reports The Herald.
Andrea Doughty, Magic Breakfast school liaison manager, said: “It’s truly devastating that the number of children requiring support at breakfast time is only growing.
“Whether that be because of financial pressures or lack of government guidance, we need to join forces and come together to provide these children with the support for their growth and fuel their learning.”
As part of the survey, 500 UK primary teachers – 50 of them in Scotland – supplied views on a range of issues linked to hunger and diet.
They were asked to consider their current class and say what percentage of pupils they think come to school without having eaten breakfast. An average was then calculated based on the answers, with a figure of 36 per cent recorded for respondents north of the Border.
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