The Department for Education (DfE) has funded the national school breakfast programme (NSBP), selecting 750 early adopter schools for 30 minutes free childcare and free breakfast clubs before school (Family Action, 2024). The aim is to provide children with a healthy meal each morning and provide them the energy they need to have a productive day, in theory this should promote healthy eating, improve attendance, increase school and life outcomes  and provide an opportunity to socialise (British Nutrition Foundation, 2023). This is especially important for children living in a food insecure household. The government has assigned 30 million pounds of tax payers money to fund the breakfast club early adopters scheme (DfE, 2024). This pilot is only available to 750 schools in England with an aim to feed as many children before their day begins. The government wants to prevent children feeling excluded from this type of club, previously the cost and financial strain for parents sending their children to breakfasts clubs meant it was cost prohibitive, meaning some children felt  excluded (Bradshaw, 2025).

It remains to be seen if this scheme will be successful, there has been early criticism that the funding provided by the government is not covering the full cost of running these clubs and the schools are expected to make up the shortfall (DfE, 2025). With school budgets already thinly spread there is no money to make up this shortfall (UK Parliament, Lord Addington, 2025). This is leading to schools opting out from the early adoption program with a reported 79 schools already withdrawing before the scheme has even started (Storer and Whittaker, 2025).

Baroness Smith also asked for reassurance of how children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will have access to this scheme and will be their experience, qualified practitioners available during this morning club to offer one to one support for children who have extra support in place. She was informed that there was 50 schools out of the 750 schools that where special educational schools deliberately chosen, however within main scheme schools there are children with SEND and will require this support during the 30 minute club (UK Parliament, Lord Addington, 2025). It remains to be seen if schools can adequately staff the breakfast clubs and provide the support all children need.

Providing free meals to all children before schools is in principle a great idea and another step forward towards ending child food poverty. Hopefully the scheme will be successful but early indications are more funding will be required and more details on how they will be staffed is required.

References

Bradshaw, B. (2025) The First in Line: the Breakfast Clubs early adopters scheme explained. Available at: https://foodactive.org.uk/the-first-in-line-the-breakfast-clubs-early-adopters-scheme-explained/  [Accessed: 22 May 2025]

British Nutrition Foundation (2023) Breakfast for health in children. Available at: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/news/the-importance-of-breakfast-for-school-children/  [Accessed: 01 June 2025]

Department for Education (2024) Everything you need to know about free school breakfast clubs. Available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/11/free-school-breakfast-clubs/  [Accessed: 01 June 2025]

Department for Education (2025) National school breakfast club programme. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-school-breakfast-club-programme  [Accessed 31 May 2025]

Family action (2024) National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP). Available at: https://family-action.org.uk/services/national-school-breakfast-programme-nsbp/ [Accessed: 1^st May 2025]

Storer, R. and Whittaker, F. (2025) 79 schools withdraw from breakfast clubs trial. Available at: https://schoolsweek.co.uk/79-schools-withdraw-from-breakfast-clubs-trial/  [Accessed: 31 May 2025]

UK Parliament, Lord Addington (2025) Breakfast Clubs: Early Adopters. Available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2025-02-27/debates/4EFCE442-BC08-4CD6-B90E-2F362CDA6558/BreakfastClubsEarlyAdopters  [Accessed: 31 May 2025]