Esme Bianchi-Barry, CEO at Affinity Workforce Solutions, welcomed the Chancellor’s commitment to expanding free school meals to half a million more children and the rollout of free breakfast clubs in schools.

The Chancellor told the House of Commons in the Autumn Budget that child poverty is “the biggest barrier to equal opportunity” and described the burden on children “going to school hungry” as unacceptable.

Her comments come just days after Affinity Workforce published research showing that almost one in three teachers see hungry children at the start of the school day every single day.

The research, based on responses from supply teachers working across England, found that 59 per cent of teachers say hunger significantly affects pupils’ ability to learn in morning lessons, while 70 per cent say it affects classroom behaviour.

Esme Bianchi-Barry said: “The Chancellor has put her finger directly on what our supply teachers witness every day in classrooms across England. Children arriving too hungry to learn. Teachers trying to support pupils who cannot concentrate because they have not eaten.

“We welcome the government’s commitment to expanding free school meals and breakfast clubs. This Budget confirms what we already know from our teachers. Child hunger is a crisis hiding in plain sight in schools across the country.

“That is why we launched Before The Bell. We are not waiting for someone else to act. Starting in January, we will be providing free breakfasts to pupils at four primary schools for a full week. But the Autumn Budget shows we need systemic, sustained intervention. No child should be too hungry to learn.”

In her Budget speech, the Chancellor said: “We’re expanding free school meals to half a million more kids, lifting 100,000 children out of poverty as we do it.”

Affinity Workforce’s research, conducted in November, found that more than a third of schools have no breakfast provision at all. Where breakfast clubs do exist, three in ten teachers say the provision is insufficient to meet demand.

Teachers identified cost as the biggest barrier preventing children from accessing breakfast, with paid breakfast clubs creating obstacles for families who cannot afford them.

Almost half of teachers said they now see more hungry children than when they first started teaching, with one in five saying the situation has worsened over the past 12 months.

One teacher working in a community within the top 1 per cent most deprived areas nationally described children arriving “having had little or no breakfast, which directly affects their concentration, energy levels and readiness to engage.”

Another said: “When children are hungry it is all they can think about. They cannot focus on their work and instead just watch the clock waiting for lunch.”

Nine in ten teachers believe providing free breakfast for all pupils would significantly or moderately improve academic performance. An even higher proportion believe it would improve behaviour and wellbeing.

Affinity Workforce has launched Before The Bell, a campaign to tackle child hunger in schools. The company is funding free breakfast provision at four primary schools across England in January 2026.