Barrhead schools' breakfast pilot

That this House welcomes news that an innovative project offering pupils the chance to pick up a free breakfast from a mobile cart is to be extended to other UK schools following a successful pilot in Barrhead High School and Carlibar and St John’s Primary Schools in East Renfrewshire; notes that the grab-n-go scheme is based on a similar model used in the United States and Canada and gives pupils easy access to cereal, toast, and fruit before the start of the school day or during the first half hour; further notes that during the Barrhead pilot, researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University surveyed almost 500 pupils and 39 teachers and found evidence of students who skipped breakfast being less able to concentrate, lacking energy and being less engaged in learning, and concluded that the breakfast cart was welcomed by staff and pupils alike; notes in particular that skipping breakfast was common among the secondary school pupils - with 63% not eating every morning - compared to just 7 per cent of primary age children, and that girls in secondary school were more likely than boys to skip breakfast, with 34 per cent never eating before school; acknowledges the work done by The Greggs Foundation, Glasgow Caledonian University, East Renfrewshire Council, catering companies E&R Moffat and Brakes, and Lindsay Graham of the Poverty and Inequality Commission Scotland in delivering the Barrhead pilot; and looks forward to news of the further rollout of this worthwhile initiative.