By Graeme Smith, Managing director at Amazon’s Development Centre in Edinburgh
TODAY, Amazon will be announcing plans to support a number of schools in Scotland through the provision of a nutritious breakfast. Why, you may ask, should a digital technology business be involving itself in school meals?
We’ve always believed we should support future generations with the tools they need to succeed in the digital world, and one of those tools is a healthy start to the day – yet so many children are missing out.
The role of food and nutrition in Scotland’s education system has been a hot topic for many years now. There have been numerous studies validating the role of healthy meals in developing improved health and education outcomes for our children. Most recently, a year-long research study by the Education Endowment Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, with the support of our charity partner, Magic Breakfast, found a positive link between children eating a nutritious breakfast at school and attainment.
The research showed breakfast clubs could boost pupils’ reading, writing and maths progress by the equivalent of two months over the course of a year. Hunger is also proven to have an adverse effect on concentration levels, and the evaluators reported that pupil concentration and behaviour improved too. These findings suggest breakfast clubs provide an opportunity to improve outcomes for all children, not just those who actually attend, by creating better classroom environments. According to Magic Breakfast, four hours of teaching time are potentially lost for the want of a healthy breakfast, which the charity can provide for just 22p a day. So if, as a country, we want to improve attainment and social mobility, it makes sense to roll out the successful Magic Breakfast approach across Scotland.
Given Amazon’s focus on helping children reach their potential in the digital world, our partnership with Magic Breakfast is a key element of our UK-wide Amazon in the Community programme, which supports communities in and around the areas we operate. The programme focuses on helping children reach their potential in the digital world by creating a positive environment to support the development of essential skills and empowering young people find and develop their career. That’s why last year we committed to funding one million breakfasts in 77 schools across the UK in the 2017-18 school year, ensuring more than 5,000 children a day get a nutritious breakfast and are able to start the day ready to learn. Our extension of this partnership to Scotland means many more Scottish schoolchildren should have the opportunity to see their life chances improved, by being able to concentrate in class and perform better in their studies.
With an initial focus on three schools in Edinburgh and Glasgow, we’ll be giving our employees the chance to get involved in supporting the running of activities at these clubs, including reading, playing and engaging with the children. Customers can also support Magic Breakfast through AmazonSmile, a new initiative that enables customers to support charities of their choice through donations from Amazon. Each time customers shop at smile.amazon.co.uk, Amazon donates a percentage of the purchase price at no additional cost to customers or the charity they select.
A good primary education plays such an important role in helping children build the skills and confidence they need to succeed in today’s increasingly high-skilled economy. Every child, regardless of background, should get an equal chance to excel at school, and we should not allow hunger, or malnutrition, to be a barrier to getting a great education. That’s why we’re pleased to extend our support for Magic Breakfast to Scotland.
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