Children learn best when they feel safe, supported and ready for the day ahead. Yet our supply teachers tell us that many pupils are arriving at school hungry, tired and unable to concentrate. Their experiences reflect a growing national issue, and it is one we cannot ignore.

Career Teachers are happy to be a part Affinity Workforce’s new social impact initiative, Before the Bell, which created to tackle child hunger in schools and ensure that no pupil is too hungry to learn. As part of this campaign, our teams recently delivered free breakfasts to local primary schools, giving every child the chance to start their morning with the fuel they need to thrive.

Why We Launched ‘Before the Bell’

 

Over the past year, supply teachers working across hundreds of schools have been raising the same concern. Pupils are arriving without having eaten breakfast. Teachers describe children complaining of stomach aches, asking when lunch will be served, or struggling to settle in morning lessons. Almost one in three teachers told us they see hungry pupils every single day.

These individual observations led us to conduct national research. The findings were clear. Six in ten teachers say hunger affects learning in morning lessons. Seven in ten say it affects behaviour. Nearly half say the issue has become more common during their career. This aligns with wider data showing that ten per cent of UK households are food insecure, with families with children twice as likely to be affected.

As Esme Bianchi‑Barry, CEO of Affinity Workforce, explains: “Our supply teachers see what is really happening in classrooms. These findings should shock us all into action. We cannot expect children to learn when they are hungry. That is why we launched Before the Bell. We are not waiting for someone else to act.”

Learn More About Before the Bell

Taking Action in Our Schools

 

In response, Affinity Workforce funded free breakfast provision at four primary schools across England in January 2026. Our Career Teachers Recruitment Consultants headed out into the local communities, helping to delivery croissants and fresh fruit to hundreds of pupils. Teachers told us the impact was immediate. Pupils were more settled, more focused and more ready to learn.

One teacher shared, “It is clearly evident that pupils are more settled and ready to learn when they have had breakfast.”

Before the Bell sits at the heart of our Transforming Lives, Shaping Futures programme. As a national education recruitment partner, we have a responsibility to support the wellbeing of the pupils and staff we work with every day. We are more than a recruitment agency. We are a workforce partner committed to improving outcomes for children and young people.

By giving pupils a nutritious start to the day, we are helping them learn, grow and reach their full potential. One breakfast at a time, we are shaping brighter futures.