A rising number of Australian children are going to school hungry, according to new research.

While a skipped bowl of cereal when running late for the school run may not seem like a big deal, the study discovered that missing the morning meal can cause children to lose more than two hours per day in learning.

Kids who regularly go once a week without breakfast were estimated to losing an entire term of learning per year, due to loss of concentration, fatigue, and behavioural issues caused by hunger.

The Hunger in the Classroom Report by Foodbank has revealed that of 532 teachers surveyed, two thirds have noticed an increase in the amount of children arriving to school hungry.

An average of three children per classroom are arriving to school unfed, while those at government schools are three times more likely to arrive without breakfast than those in non-government schools. 

For students who missed breakfast, 73 per cent had difficulty concentrating, 66 per cent became lethargic, 54 per cent had learning difficulties and 52 per cent exhibited behavioral problems. 

Teachers also reported that hungry kids were also linked to having higher absentee records too.

35 per cent of teachers noted that hungry students were the latest students of a morning and 29 per noticed they were often the ones frequently absent from school.

Further, 95 per cent of teachers even went as far to say that they believe being hungry affected students overall ability to reach their potential in and outside of the classroom.

And it's not only children who are suffering.

Teachers were also said to have a heavier workload, with four out of five noticing an increased workload thanks to the extra time they had to invest on hungry students.

Interestingly, the schools who provided breakfast for students, showed high positive results.

97 per cent of kids who ate at school showed better physical health and 91 per cent had better mental health levels.

Beyond health, fed students were found to be nicer overall too with 83 per cent showing more positive relations to staff and 70 per cent showing more positive behavior to the overall community.

Written By Sam Bailey

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