More children than ever before are going to school hungry, research suggests.
Four out of five (79%) teachers surveyed by Kellogg's said that children arrived at school without having had breakfast, and more than half (54%) thought the number of hungry children had risen in the past year.
Some 68 per cent of teachers thought that parental apathy and a lack of money (57%) were the main reasons children went without breakfast in the morning.
Nearly a third of teachers (31%) said they had taken food to school for pupils who missed out on breakfast, with one in twelve saying they had spent between £16 and £25 a month of their own money doing so.
School breakfast clubs are regarded as being a cost-effective way to combat child hunger, but recent reports have shown that many across England have closed in the past year, a report by Kellogg's said.
Karin Woodley, chief executive of education charity ContinYou, said: "Many families are really struggling financially and in extreme cases, this means that there simply isn’t enough food to go round. Breakfast clubs can provide a lifeline for these families so we’re extremely concerned to hear that many are being forced to close."
Being hungry can also also affect how children perform at school, as they are more likely to be tired, lack concentration and behave badly, teachers said.
Food charity FareShare also revealed that more schools than ever are reliant on them to provide breakfast for children – an increase of 57 per cent in the past year.
Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare said: "There are 5.8 million people living in deep poverty across the country, meaning they struggle to afford everyday essentials like food.
"We are particularly concerned about child hunger as our research shows that more schools than ever before are using donations from FareShare to provide breakfast to their pupils as more families struggle to afford to feed themselves."
Kellogg’s has launched a nationwide campaign to "Help give a child a breakfast", which aims to raise funds for schools to help provide breakfast for children who need it most.
