Families and children in Chesterfield will soon benefit from free, daily breakfast clubs as the Labour government confirms the first 750 schools to offer the scheme, including William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School, putting up to £450 a year back in local parents’ pockets.
From as soon as April, the school will kick-off the historic programme, with an early adopter phase set to inform Labour’s landmark national roll out which will give all parents access to the scheme.
The clubs come alongside a raft of measures designed to cut the cost of living for families, including the commitment to significantly cut uniform costs through a cap on branded items and complement the government-funded childcare.
Delivering on promises made to working parents in Labour’s manifesto, all primary aged children attending William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School 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.
Universal free breakfast clubs are central to Labour’s Plan for Change, removing barriers to opportunity by making sure every child starts the school day ready to learn – with research showing the clubs have a lasting impact on children’s behaviour, attendance and attainment.
The scheme also has an important role to play in Labour’s commitment to remove the stain of child poverty. Out of the 180,000 children who will benefit from the early adopter schools nationwide, around 67,000 attend schools in deprived areas. This will provide an essential meal to ensure every child starts the day ready to learn.
Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield, said, “I am absolutely delighted that William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School has been selected as one of the first schools to benefit from Labour’s free breakfast clubs and I cannot wait to open the club in April. It’s a testament to both the school and the Labour government’s dedication to getting children school-ready so they are able to improve their attendance, attainment and wellbeing, as well as improving the household finances of local families.
William Rhodes have already been providing a breakfast club which has cost thousands that could have been spent on education, so now this will rightly be funded by the government. This is the early rollout of a programme I hope to see supporting children in every school in Chesterfield, saving parents up to £450 a year and boosting attendance and performance.”
Schools were chosen from across England to ensure the scheme tests and learns from a variety of schools. Each breakfast club must be universal, offer 30 minutes of free childcare and include breakfast.
Breakfast clubs have been shown to boost children’s reading, writing, and maths by an average of two months.
Too many children’s life chances are being scarred by rising poverty, with 1 in 4 children in absolute poverty as of 2023. Labour 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, and tackle the challenges felt by those living in poverty.
Early Adopter schools, including William Rhodes, will shape the future of the national breakfast club policy, contributing directly to its implementation. Further details on the national roll out of the breakfast clubs programme will follow in due course. The wider paid-for wraparound childcare offer – for all primary children to be able to access childcare between 8am-6pm – continues to roll out across the country.
