SATs week can be a nervy time for children, but a Greggs Breakfast Club at South Stanley Junior School is helping put Year 6 pupils at ease by giving them a great start to the day.
The breakfast club, which has been partly funded by Karbon Homes, has been made available to all Year 6 pupils for their SATs week to help them feel calmer and ready to concentrate.
The club has been running at South Stanley Junior School for several years, with 50 children from across the school regularly attending.
Rachael Bell, Headteacher at South Stanley Junior School has seen how much of an impact the Greggs Breakfast Club has had on her pupils:
“It’s massive, this is a very deprived area and sometimes our children come to school not having the opportunity to have anything to eat so it makes a huge difference.
“You can see the difference in the kids, especially on a week like this when they have their SATs. They are a bit anxious but the Breakfast Club helps to settle them down and have a chat with their friends. It also gives the chance for the staff to interact to them, identify any kids who are particularly anxious and give them that extra bit of support.
“The Breakfast Club is free for everyone. We do ask the parents to book a place just so we know numbers, but it’s quite flexible and any of our pupils can come.
“It’s a really good opportunity and it’s something as a school, if we didn’t get this funding from Greggs and Karbon Homes, we wouldn’t have the budget to be able to pay for 50 kids every day to have their breakfast.
“Greggs do a lot of work in communities like this one, prioritising schools in highly deprived areas. 65% of our children are entitled to free school meals which is a lot higher than the national average. Not only do you get your Breakfast Club funded, you can also get access to hardship grants for the families of our children so it does so much to support the community as well.”
Elaine Goodrum and Stacey Hodgson who help to run the Breakfast Club have really seen the difference the club has made to the children:
“When they’ve had a meal, they concentrate better and we get great feedback from their teachers.
“It’s lovely to see them come in for Breakfast Club and it helps them get in on time for school as well.”
But it’s not just the staff who have seen the benefits, pupils Imogen, Lucy, Angel, Harley and David have all loved coming along to the Breakfast Club:
Imogen loves the variety:
“I really love it. You get to try different things for breakfast and it puts you in the right mood for school. It also gets me away from my little brother.”
Lucy has found it gives her the best start to the day:
“I’m usually quite tired in the morning and it helps me wake up.”
For Angel, it means she gets to spend more time with her friends:
“I really love school and it means I get to spend more time here and see my friends in the morning.”
For Harley and David, it’s really helped set them up for their SATs:
“I can get a bit nervous before we take the tests. The breakfast club helps me get over my nerves and ready for the tests.”
Karbon Homes provided £4,125 for this breakfast club as part of a two year funded project. Community Connector, Stacey Dobson has been thrilled by the impact the club is having:
“We’ve been working with South Stanley School for several years now and it’s been amazing to see how beneficial the club has been for the school, the children and their families. We have almost 900 properties in the Stanley area and we want to ensure that our residents have access to this kind of support to help them feel more secure, confident and happy.
“Greggs are a great organisation to partner with. The work they do to make a difference to disadvantaged people within our communities very much mirrors the work we do.”
Do you need additional support?
Our Community Connectors can help you access support just like the Greggs Breakfast Club through our Community Investment fund. We welcome applications from not-for-profit and voluntary organisations as well as local schools.
You can find out more on our Community Funding page.
SATs week can be a nervy time for children, but a Greggs Breakfast Club at South Stanley Junior School is helping put Year 6 pupils at ease by giving them a great start to the day.
The breakfast club, which has been partly funded by Karbon Homes, has been made available to all Year 6 pupils for their SATs week to help them feel calmer and ready to concentrate.
The club has been running at South Stanley Junior School for several years, with 50 children from across the school regularly attending.
Rachael Bell, Headteacher at South Stanley Junior School has seen how much of an impact the Greggs Breakfast Club has had on her pupils:
“It’s massive, this is a very deprived area and sometimes our children come to school not having the opportunity to have anything to eat so it makes a huge difference.
“You can see the difference in the kids, especially on a week like this when they have their SATs. They are a bit anxious but the Breakfast Club helps to settle them down and have a chat with their friends. It also gives the chance for the staff to interact to them, identify any kids who are particularly anxious and give them that extra bit of support.
“The Breakfast Club is free for everyone. We do ask the parents to book a place just so we know numbers, but it’s quite flexible and any of our pupils can come.
“It’s a really good opportunity and it’s something as a school, if we didn’t get this funding from Greggs and Karbon Homes, we wouldn’t have the budget to be able to pay for 50 kids every day to have their breakfast.
“Greggs do a lot of work in communities like this one, prioritising schools in highly deprived areas. 65% of our children are entitled to free school meals which is a lot higher than the national average. Not only do you get your Breakfast Club funded, you can also get access to hardship grants for the families of our children so it does so much to support the community as well.”
Elaine Goodrum and Stacey Hodgson who help to run the Breakfast Club have really seen the difference the club has made to the children:
“When they’ve had a meal, they concentrate better and we get great feedback from their teachers.
“It’s lovely to see them come in for Breakfast Club and it helps them get in on time for school as well.”
But it’s not just the staff who have seen the benefits, pupils Imogen, Lucy, Angel, Harley and David have all loved coming along to the Breakfast Club:
Imogen loves the variety:
“I really love it. You get to try different things for breakfast and it puts you in the right mood for school. It also gets me away from my little brother.”
Lucy has found it gives her the best start to the day:
“I’m usually quite tired in the morning and it helps me wake up.”
For Angel, it means she gets to spend more time with her friends:
“I really love school and it means I get to spend more time here and see my friends in the morning.”
For Harley and David, it’s really helped set them up for their SATs:
“I can get a bit nervous before we take the tests. The breakfast club helps me get over my nerves and ready for the tests.”
Karbon Homes provided £4,125 for this breakfast club as part of a two year funded project. Community Connector, Stacey Dobson has been thrilled by the impact the club is having:
“We’ve been working with South Stanley School for several years now and it’s been amazing to see how beneficial the club has been for the school, the children and their families. We have almost 900 properties in the Stanley area and we want to ensure that our residents have access to this kind of support to help them feel more secure, confident and happy.
“Greggs are a great organisation to partner with. The work they do to make a difference to disadvantaged people within our communities very much mirrors the work we do.”
Do you need additional support?
Our Community Connectors can help you access support just like the Greggs Breakfast Club through our Community Investment fund. We welcome applications from not-for-profit and voluntary organisations as well as local schools.
You can find out more on our Community Funding page.
More news
Work starts on site for new rural homes in East Cowton
Community street art unveiled, celebrating life in Byker