Free breakfast clubs for all English primary schools

Free breakfast clubs will be introduced in English primary schools next year with a national rollout expected by September 2025.

The first 750 schools will roll out the breakfast clubs in the summer term as part of a £7m pilot scheme by the Department for Education.

Rise and shine

Chancellor Rachel Reeves made the announcement at the Labour Party conference on Monday (23 September), describing the move as an “investment” in reducing child poverty and the economy. The plan is expected to save parents more than £400 each year.

Reeves said: “Today I can announce that that will start in hundreds of schools for primary school-aged pupils from this April, ahead of the national rollout.”

Rolling out the pilot

We don’t know yet which schools will the first to offer the free breakfasts, but the areas will be revealed in the coming months.

The government has said that the rollout won’t be based on need, but “how we can get the pilot ready for the full rollout later in the year”.

These won’t be the first free breakfast clubs in the country, as schools in disadvantaged areas are currently eligible for the free national school breakfast club programme if at least 40% of their pupils are from low-income families. This is measured using the income deprivation affecting children index (IDACI).

Under present guidelines, schools signed up to the national programme will receive a 75% subsidy for food and associated costs until July 2025.

And other schools also run clubs out of their own budgets, while others charge a fee. Some charities deliver breakfast clubs too.

Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club

Evidence shows that a healthy school breakfast at the start of the day can improve children’s willingness to learn and concentration as well as enhancing their behaviour and wellbeing.

Free breakfast for all primary school-aged children is a step in the right direction – we’d like to see the government build on this by following the Welsh government’s lead in providing free school lunches for all primary school aged children.