Minister for Early Education visits Peckover Primary School in Wisbech after ‘lifeline’ free breakfast club announcement

Parents and pupils at a Wisbech school are to benefit from a free breakfast club as part of the first phase of a government rollout.

Peckover Primary School is among the first educational establishments to provide a free breakfast club which can see parents save around £450 a year.

Delivering on promises made to working parents in the Government’s manifesto, primary-aged children in early adopter schools will be able to access a free breakfast and at least 30 minutes of free childcare, every day, helping to support parents getting into work by dropping their children off half an hour earlier.

Today, 750 early adopted schools have been announced, with 88 in the East of England region, which will benefit 4,200 children in disadvantaged communities.

Stephen Morgan, Minister for Early Education, attended Peckover Primary School this morning to see in person the positive impact the club has on children before they start a full day of learning.

He said: “It has been really great to get here today to see first-hand what benefits it is making in a great local school.

“This is all part of our plan for change and breaking down the barriers to opportunity that we often see between background and opportunity.

Mr Morgan expressed his excitement at rolling this out throughout England, especially at a small community school like Peckover. He believes it will benefit attendance and behaviour while putting money back into parents' pockets with an average savings of £450 per child per year.

“The beauty of the breakfast club program is not just about the club, but also the food, so in terms of the club, children will get to access good and enriching opportunities with socialising that will get them ready for the school day”, he says.

“In terms of the food provision, it saves the parents money and gives them at least 30 minutes of childcare each day.”

Mr Morgan is really keen to see the difference this program can make and he thinks Peckover is a great local school, which he can already see is a success. He is looking forward to working with them in this test-and-learn phase over the next year.

On his visit to the school, he said he spoke with a pupil who said the breakfast club makes him want to come to school. Mr Morgan said: “It is really exciting to make sure we are putting the interventions into place, so kids can succeed and thrive.”

Peckover has around 160 children attend its club which started around four to five years ago and has been a paid model up until now.

“It is so important with the challenges parents can face and knowing there are real issues with attendance in the county to make sure every child succeeds and thrives, by keeping up our plan for change to make sure children are supported at the start of the school day”, he added.

“What we are doing is moving with pace to implement breakfast clubs across the country. We announced £30million in the budget last October which we are now legislating.”

Nine-year-old Serea said said her favourite thing about breakfast club is talking to people about how their day has been and they get to have snacks and drinks. She said: “It is really fun.”

Ieuan, 11, loves to be able to chill and talk to his friends about what they have been doing during the half term. He said: “My favourite is Lego as we get to build it with friends.”

Kate Kendal, principal at Peckover, said being able to offer the club for free is “exciting” as it has been running for a while and “it is an absolute lifeline for our families”.

“Our children come to school, enjoy the social aspect of breakfast club, they get a good meal before they start the day, so when they arrive in their classroom they are ready to learn with a full tummy.

“We have a very diverse community and for some of our families they are working class and need to have that childcare element of that breakfast club.

“For other families it is just a very busy household so actually for us taking that responsibility of feeding the children in the morning, it takes a bit of pressure off the families and for some of the families it is just knowing their children are going to have a healthy meal – they may not have enough food in the house so we look at all aspects really.

“I think every school should have a breakfast club.”

Mrs Kendal said when it first started they had reservations as they thought it was going to be a lot of extra work and a lot more to organise but she said: “It just changes how our school is during the day.

“Our children arrive, they are happy and fed and love meeting their friends in breakfast club and then go off to their classes so it is a win-win for us.”

Schools were chosen from across England to ensure the scheme tests and learns from a variety of locations, including those that do not currently run a breakfast club, and all will receive funding to cover food and staffing costs.

Government research shows most parents (87%) think breakfast clubs are a good chance for children to socialise, and two-thirds (66%) recognise the value of clubs providing educational activities.

Breakfast clubs have been shown to boost children’s reading, writing and maths progress by an average of two months.

Many children’s life chances are being scarred by rising poverty, with one in four in absolute poverty as of 2023.

The government says it is determined to change that, with the breakfast club rollout being driven alongside wider work of the Child Poverty Taskforce, which is set to deliver an ambitious strategy to increase household income, bring down essential costs nd tackle the challenges felt by those living in poverty.

Bridget Phillipson, education secretary, said: “Free breakfast clubs sit right at the heart of our Plan for Change, breaking the link between background and success for families all over the country.

“Breakfast clubs can have a transformative impact on the lives of children, feeding hungry tummies and fuelling hungry minds, so every child begins the day ready to learn.

“Alongside our plans to roll out school-based nurseries and get thousands more children school-ready, this government is delivering the reforms needed to give every child, wherever they grow up, the best start in life.”

Sir David Holmes CBE, chief executive of Family Action, said: “Family Action welcomes the government’s announcement of the 750 schools who have been selected to take part in the Early Adopters Scheme.

“These schools will have a vital test and learn role which will undoubtedly inform the national rollout of the government’s exciting universal breakfast policy.

“We know that an effective breakfast provision delivered in a supportive and enriching environment can make a world of difference to a child. We look forward to sharing our long experience of delivering breakfast provision ourselves with Early Adopter schools.”

Early Adopter schools will shape the future of the national breakfast club policy, contributing directly to its implementation.