The government’s flagship plan to set up free breakfast clubs in all primary schools is running into trouble as headteachers say that initial funding is inadequate and charities with experience of providing food in schools demand more flexibility over how they can be run.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sees the provision of free breakfast clubs in all primary schools as vital to breaking what she calls the “unfair link between background and success” in education. Numerous academic studies show that a good breakfast improves attendance and pupil performance.
But with the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, considering further spending cuts for major departments, concerns are growing among headteachers, unions and charities that the plans will not be properly funded and will lack the flexibility required to be successful.
This weekend, the independent publication Schools Week highlighted how some headteachers in primaries, while enthusiastic about the overall aims, were refusing to take part in an “early adopter” pilot scheme for 750 volunteer schools because only 60p was being provided by the government per pupil.
Paul Bertram, headteacher at Buxworth Primary School, told Schools Week he had talked with governors about taking part in the pilot but they concluded they would be left with a large financial shortfall. “We discussed it as a governing body and we just couldn’t afford to run at a loss. If this is the best they can offer, they are going to struggle with putting the policy nationally across the whole of the country.”
Another school leader said that 15 of the schools he had responsibility for were invited to take part in the pilot but 11 decided not to as they “wouldn’t be able to cover the scale of staff required”.
Guidance sent to schools taking part in the pilots say they will receive a £500 set-up payment to cover equipment and materials as well as £1,099 for “start-up staffing costs” to cover the summer term. A payment will then be made in arrears, based on the number of pupils taking part.
Lindsey MacDonald, CEO of the charity Magic Breakfast, which has more than 20 years of experience in the field and provides breakfasts to more than 300,000 children and young people every day, said ministers must allow schools to offer a variety of ways to feed pupils, rather than just in formal “breakfast clubs” set up in one hall or building, before the normal school day. This is by far the most expensive model as it requires extra staff to be employed out of normal hours, and does not maximise the chances of all pupils being fed.
While MacDonald is strongly in favour of the government’s aim, she insisted that ministers must allow schools the option to provide food in a wider variety of “grab and go” settings, such as when they arrive at school, in classrooms and even during lessons and break times.
“To enable schools to maximise the budgets, the Department for Education must provide schools with flexibility, guidance and advice to deliver breakfast through a variety of models.
“By outlining and allowing schools to choose from various delivery models – ranging from traditional breakfast clubs to classroom-based meals and grab-and-go options – the scheme can not only adapt to accommodate different school facilities and staffing levels, but can also cut costs by up to 75% per pupil compared to clubs alone,” MacDonald said.
“We know this approach works. In the 2023-24 academic year, 86% of Magic Breakfast’s 1,000-plus schools offered more than one form of breakfast provision. This was the result of expert advice and support, enabling schools to adapt and increase the effectiveness and efficiencies of their provision.”
Anna McShane, director of the independent thinktank The New Britain Project, which has been looking at the practical implementation of Labour’s pledge, said its research had also found that more clarity was needed. “Now, more schools are rightly pushing back. Without clarity, this risks being another initiative that prioritises political headlines over practical solutions.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said that lessons from the “test and learn” pilot phase would be used to inform policy and that “no final decisions had been made” on the timing of the national rollout.
The DfE added that an average primary school with a 50% take-up would receive about £23,000 for a full year for an early adopter breakfast club.
