The Government’s new breakfast club scheme has officially been announced, with 750 schools across nine regions of England set to be the first in the programme from the beginning of the summer term.
It will see children getting a free breakfast 30 minutes before every school day. A Department for Education report noted 180,000 pupils in the “most disadvantaged communities” will be able to access these clubs from April.
The first schools operating the new clubs will reportedly contact families directly with information about how to sign up. The full list of early adopter schools is available here.
These schools were specifically chosen for the early adopter scheme to represent all school types, sizes and geographical areas across England. While the scheme is due to start in April, individual schools can decide exactly when to start.
If your child’s school is not part of this initial rollout, it may just take some patience as there are plans for the scheme to be extended. The Government hopes to use the early adopter schools as a learning curve to test and improve various approaches to ensure it effectively helps the local communities.
Each selected school will receive a lump sum to set up the scheme and a recurring sum per term to help with costs. Receiving these payments in arrears based on the number of children attending the club to cover costs like staffing.
The free breakfast clubs are set to be rolled out in every primary school in England, with this being the first phase of Labour’s plan. It’s hoped giving these pupils a nutritious start to the day will improve behaviour, attendance and attainment as a result.
Meals provided are promised to be “healthy, nutritious and varied”, following the School Food Standards guidelines. The clubs will also allow children to start off their school day with their friends, spending some time doing enjoyable activities like reading and crafts.
The scheme will also allow parents to drop their children off half an hour earlier at no extra cost. It is estimated this could save working families up to £450 a year.