£26 million funding to boost school breakfast clubs

£26 million funding to boost schools breakfast clubs

More children across the country will get a healthy and nutritious breakfast to set them up for the school day, thanks to an investment of up to £26 million.

In addition, two leading charities have been appointed to run morning clubs.

The boost to breakfast provision will be funded through the government’s soft drinks industry levy and will benefit over 1,770 schools across the country.

This investment will be targeted at the most disadvantaged areas of the country – including the Department for Education’s Opportunity Areas – to help make sure every child gets the best start in life.

Family Action, in partnership with Magic Breakfast, have both been named as the charities that will run the clubs. Family Action supports 45,000 of the most vulnerable families each year, while Magic Breakfast – which ran the department’s previous breakfast club programme – has supported the provision of breakfasts to over 31,500 children across 550 schools.

As part of the funding, experts at Family Action and Magic Breakfast will also look at how they can encourage more children to attend these programmes and improve collaboration and sharing of best practice across schools.

Education secretary Damian Hinds said: “A healthy breakfast can help fuel children’s concentration so they can get the most out of their school day.

“Children only get one chance at an education and they deserve the best, whatever their background. That is why we are giving more pupils in some of the country’s most disadvantaged areas the chance to go to a breakfast club.

“Paid for by the government’s soft drinks levy, this investment will help raise education standards further and will make sure young people have happy, healthy childhoods.”

The new clubs are due to start this spring. As well as providing a healthy and nutritious meal, many will also offer children the chance to be more active and develop their knowledge and skills through extra-curricular activities to improve their learning.

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