Free breakfast clubs to be rolled out to half a million more kids within months

Half a million more children will benefit from free breakfast clubs from next year, the Government has announced.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told The Mirror that rolling the Labour project out to 2,000 more schools would make a "huge difference" to families. So far two million meals have been served in 750 schools since the first wave was launched in April.

Ms Phillipson, who is running to be Labour's next deputy leader, said she is proud of the positive impact the policy is having. She said: "I was at a breakfast club in Kettering this week, and they had 100 children coming through the door.

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"It was very busy and they said that it really it really helped parents with the cost of living, lots of their families were still struggling. But also for children who needed a softer start to the school day, it meant that when they got to the classroom, they were ready to learn.

"So they said it had a positive impact on teaching and learning because children had time to have some breakfast, talk with their friends to socialise." Schools will be able to apply to be part of the next cohort, with the first coming onboard in April with more to follow in September, the Education Secretary said.

More than £80million will be invested in expanding breakfast clubs, which Ms Phillipson said she wants to be in place in all schools by the end of the current Parliament.

"I'm incredibly proud, at how quickly we've been able to start rolling out a new free breakfast clubs, that we've been able to get old and deliver the change that people voted for," she said.

"And this announcement shows that I'm putting Labor's values into action. This, together with the big expansion of free school meals next year, will make a huge difference to children's life chances."

From next September all families who receive Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals.

School breakfast clubs were a key manifesto pledge which the Government says will give parents 95 hours back each year and save up to £450 in childcare costs.

It says polling found eight in ten familes say breakfast clubs help them to get to work on time and drop their kids off at school more easily.

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