Membership Spotlight highlights the work of our member organisations and outlines how other individuals and NGOs can support them. Together is shining a light on Magic Breakfast and their unwavering belief that no child should be too hungry to learn. Magic Breakfast has proudly been a member of Together since 2021.

By Emma Murphy, Policy and Public Affairs Officer

Tell us about the work of your organisation in Scotland

For upwards of 20 years, Magic Breakfast has been led by the unwavering belief that no child should be too hungry to learn. We are the leading charity providing school breakfast in Scotland, working with schools to provide free, nutritious breakfasts and advocating for policies that uphold children’s rights.

As part of our new organisational strategy, Nourishing Futures, our mission is to champion and provide nourishing breakfasts that help children and young people learn and thrive. Food remains our foundation, but we know that a Magic Breakfast is more than what’s on the plate. It’s the calm when a child is greeted by name, the laughter over toast and games, the quiet chats with trusted adults, the sense of belonging that helps a child start the day feeling seen, valued and ready to learn.

Does your organisation influence policy development on issues affecting children and young people?

Influencing policy is a core pillar of Magic Breakfast’s work, because we know ending morning hunger requires a combined approach of practical provision in schools and long-term, systemic change. Our policy and public affairs work is rooted in the lived experiences of children and young people, and in our belief that no child should be too hungry to learn. This includes championing the right to food, the right to education, and the right to be heard, making sure these are upheld not only in school breakfast spaces, but across national policy.

One of the most recent (and exciting!) examples of our policy influence is the 2026 Scottish Budget commitment to invest in breakfast provision for primary and ASN pupils. This multi-year investment plan reflects years of evidence-building, cross-sector collaboration, and the stories children, families, and school staff have shared through our work.

A commitment to breakfast provision is a commitment to upholding children’s rights under the UNCRC, including the rights to food, health, education, and non-discrimination. When a child or young person starts the day nourished, they are better able to access their learning, participate fully in school life, and feel included in their community. It helps to guarantee that no child’s opportunities are limited because of their circumstances.

What projects are you currently working on?

Our focus at the moment in Scotland is a project called The Morning We Make (MWM), a research and engagement initiative exploring how children’s rights are upheld (or put at risk) between waking up and the first lesson of the day.

Building on Scotland’s ongoing incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), MWM seeks to understand if children and young people are beginning their school day having already experienced potential infringements of these rights. Whether due to poverty, transport barriers, stigma, or a lack of consistent support available.

MWM focuses on children and young people in Primary 6 to Secondary 2, a transition period where support measures often fall away despite need remaining high. This age group is particularly relevant to Magic Breakfast, as government commitments around breakfast provision in Scotland stop at the end of primary school, creating gaps at precisely the moment when pupils are navigating new environments, routines and expectations. Understanding this transition is important to safeguarding children’s rights during the shift from primary to secondary school.

To address this, we’re seeking to deliver a series of participatory workshops across Scotland, centring the lived experiences of children and young people from a range of communities, spanning urban, rural and island settings.

We are currently looking for a Scotland-based consultancy to design and facilitate these workshops, gather qualitative data, and produce a comprehensive summary report that captures children’s voices, stories and insights.

The workshops should follow best practice in rights-based engagement, drawing on the principles of the UNCRC and the Lundy model of child participation to enable that participants have space, voice, audience and influence throughout the process. These sessions will explore themes such as socio-economic and geographical disparities, infrastructure challenges, the emotional impact of starting the day without breakfast, and what a rights-respecting morning looks like from the perspective of children and young people.

Our invitation to tender is open until 8 February 2026, and we encourage organisations or individuals with expertise in rights-based participatory methods to apply, or reach out to us if they’d like more information.

The findings from MWM will shape our advocacy with the next Scottish Government following the 2026 election. By grounding our policy recommendations in the lived experiences of children and young people, MWM will contribute to future national commitments on school food, education, and wellbeing, calling for them to be robust, rights-based, and reflective of the realities Scottish pupils face.

How can other organisations or individuals get involved or support your work?

There are a few ways for organisations and individuals to get involved in and strengthen Magic Breakfast’s mission. Beyond responding to our invitation to tender for The Morning We Make, partners can play a role once the findings are published – by sharing the report widely, championing the voices and experiences of children and young people, and using the insights to support their own advocacy work. We also welcome collaboration on rights-based initiatives and cross-sector evidence building that can inform national policy.

Organisations and individuals looking to take action right now can support our Breakfast Can’t Wait campaign, which calls on the Scottish Government to deliver a clear, fully funded national plan for stigma-free breakfast provision for all children and young people (including secondary-aged and early years pupils left out by the current national plan). By amplifying the campaign, engaging MSPs, or bringing the message into community and professional networks, supporters can be a part of the journey to create a Scotland where every child and young person starts the day nourished, included and ready to learn.

Find out more about Magic Breakfast by visiting their website: https://www.magicbreakfast.com/contact-us/

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Are you a Together organisational member and would like to collaborate for a Membership Spotlight? Email: caitlin@togetherscotland.org.uk

Consultancy and Training

Together provides training and consultancy to organisations looking to strengthen how they support children’s human rights. 

For twenty-five years, Together has been helping organisations and individuals from a range of backgrounds and roles to improve their awareness and understanding of children’s human rights in practice. This has included work on the Skills and Knowledge project, which explores what professionals need to know and apply to be able to implement children’s human rights. 

The UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 will impact public bodies, private sector organisations and third sector organisations all over Scotland, as they look to further their work on children’s rights. Together can support organisations to identify situations in which they are already implementing children’s rights in practice, alongside how they can evolve their work using a Children’s Human Rights Approach. Find out more about our principle specific training.

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