Morecambe school’s ‘Book and Breakfast Week’ nourishes body and mind

But rather than wait to receive official funding, one Morecambe school has taken the initiative to put community, health and inspiration at the top of the menu.

With the motto “Where Learning is for Life”, Sandylands Primary School, on Hampton Road, has built a reputation for inspiring consistency, cohesion and self-confidence, including morning toast, creative lessons, extra school clubs and activities, positive whole class rewards for punctuality and attendance and plans to differentiate school uniform.

Inspired by a government scheme trialling free breakfast clubs, head teacher Allison Hickson and head cook Sue Varey devised ‘Book and Breakfast Week’, pairing cookery with book-ery in a calm, communal setting.

Between 50 and 70 families opted in to the trial week, where delicious daily choices included fruit platters, boiled eggs, crumpets, beans on toast, bagels with cream cheese and tomatoes, and overnight oats or pancakes with berries.

The calm and nourishing start to the school day also included sociably quiet time to focus on reading, overseen by enthusiastic school mascot Sammy the Seal, with support and chat facilitated by volunteer teachers and teaching assistants.

“Initially disappointed to miss out on government trial funding, it simply fired us up to do it ourselves,” explains Mrs Hickson. “From adverts to outlets, the ubiquity of fast food and high calorie snacks puts the responsibility on us to show our children how to eat well and live a healthy lifestyle.

“We want to provide services to enable parents to work, including wrap around care, so we paired healthy eating with supported reading to nourish both body and mind.

"‘Book and Breakfast Week’ enabled us to build on Sandylands’ culture of welcoming and supportive inclusivity, giving children the opportunity to relax, read and chat with friends and teachers in a comfortable, community environment.”

Generating great feedback and positive changes in children’s behaviour and engagement, as well as clean plates, the school is keen to make the scheme a more regular part of the curriculum, even without official funding.

This includes plans for regular Friday Book and Breakfast sessions and a pop-up food shack providing after-school healthy takeaways, making relaxing and chatting over family dinner something to relish.

“As with most of our initiatives, we’re hugely grateful to the generosity of our staff, parents and donors with their time and contributions,” says Mrs Hickson. “But the response so far highlights the value of what a little community creativity and effort can achieve, so watch this space for more: it could be a real page-turner!”