To think that funding free breakfast clubs is wrong-headed?

I am pro free breakfast clubs for kids if properly executed, supported, and funded. There are too many hungry kids (we're in a somewhat deprived area) and for others, it would be a more gentle transition to the school day. Lots of issues getting the littles in the school gates here.

I say this as someone who wouldn't use them as ds6 has extremely selective eating, and what he actually eats in the morning is variable and needs a level of support he wouldn't get at school. I know, because he often eats nothing at lunch (even though we do packed lunches with his safe foods).

The issues with this current scheme are well established already, no point repeating. As for the motives, who knows.

Out of interest what is provided for breakfast
If it’s a healthy porridge for all I think it’s a good idea. I’d advocate for one option to avoid food waste ( with something else for kids with allergies )

but if it’s sugary cereals or similar….then no.

I think they should also think about about high school children

I should say, none of that is to say it's not a good idea, where it does feed those who otherwise can't due to cost. Lovely. Fab. I'm just not sure that's who it will largely capture.

My last post because my blood pressure is not doing well.

Those of you who oppose this I want you to play along with me for a few moments. Imagine your current situation ceased to exist. Your own child(ren) find themselves in poverty, no one is able to adequately provide or care for them, they struggle for food outside of a fsm at school. Is that 63p still the biggest waste of money you can think of? Is it still making you angry? Too many children live this reality. Be angry about that.

Is it not (if we take it at face value) working on a misplaced assumption that where children are arriving at school unfed, it's because of the cost of breakfast? Because that's what breakfast club remedies: the cost. And missing the possibility that children are missing breakfast due to the organisation/time factor? In which case, a club starting at 8am will nothing at all to resolve.
The mum giving her child coke and crisps for breakfast didn't do so due to cost: those items are more expensive than a healthy breakfast. She did so due to time.

I know myself even, when my children miss breakfast, it's because we got up late. Certainly not because I can't afford it. We have cupboards full of cereal/porridge/toast. Just no time to eat it that morning. Fortunately we pass a corner shop and I can stuff a flapjack and juice carton in them on the walk.

I think breakfast clubs will, like so many other measures, end up catering to the families who don't need them in the first place. The ones who are organised enough to get in by 8am.

Children don't choose to be born into impoverished families. We ALL have a moral responsibility to look after the have not kids.

I think it's a great idea, but we probably won't get similar here in NI. I honestly think some of the comments here are pretty typical of people who have never gone hungry or known anyone else who has. Surely it's not that much of a stretch to grasp the concept that many children arrive at school every day with nothing in their stomachs. Nothing. It may or may not be the parents' fault, depending on circumstances, but it's certainly not the children's fault. Making it open to all means there is no stigma attached to those in desperate need. There shouldn't be any stigma, but there invariably is. If your child doesn't need breakfast at school, great👍

@TickingAlongNicely , yes plus heating the classroom, washing up the crockery, wiping down the tables, asking the caretaker to open up the school earlier etc.

Fair play to you for funding your children's entire education & healthcare.

Have you ever seen a primary school in a deprived area? It is essential, not a luxury.
Guess people like you don't drive your range rover through those peasanty hoods though.

I answered this above.

Did you benefit from free nursery care? If you did, why can’t you just take responsibility for your own children and not keep expecting everybody else to pay? That’s correct isn’t it?

How do you think that fewer will be late? If they struggle to get there for 9 (for whatever reason) how is 8.30 going to make it any easier?

But that’s not poverty that’s bad parenting.

It’s shocking isn’t it? They are prepared to see children go hungry in order to punish them for being born into poverty or for having feckless parents, absolutely charming people.

Presuming thats one minimum wage worker supervising those 20 children, it leaves 20p for actual food.

*a week (2.5 hours a week).

Primary schools often know which children it is that are likely to come to school hungry. They are fed discretely already with many teachers having a box of cereal hidden in their classroom for such children.

I don't see how exactly it will work and what the exact details will be about who is able to attend. Some of the most vulnerable families have many issues, meaning they don't always get to school on time, so having to turn up even earlier is not going to help them. Additionally there are SEN children with 1:1 requirements that I don't know how schools will be able to staff if they wanted to attend, or whether there will be the ability to say no to these families (whether this would be seen as discrimination).

I still think staff and space could be potential issues in general. I believe it's only 30 mins they need to run for, so who will want a job of potentially 2.5 hours a day unless it's existing staff members who are currently being cut from many schools due to lack of funds. So basically unless there are going to be volunteers, I don't see that being successful either.

And 63p per child is £18.90 for 30. For 30 minutes that sounds helpful given that some schools are already funding these themselves.

I think a lot of people would just see the breakfast club as free childcare before school. Yes - it might help some workers but families should take responsibility for themselves and not keep expecting everybody else to pay.

Threads like this make me hang my head in shame at the selfishness of people in this country.

One school I trained in 20-ish years ago used to do something similar, we had a (voluntary) staff rota for taking in a loaf of bread and manning the toasters. Genuinely, I’m thrilled for some of you that you’ve never seen how happy a child can be to get a piece of toast and jam in the morning when they get to school. How they hug the radiators when they get in because they don’t have a coat. It doesn’t fix everything, but it eases their life for a few moments.

What the fuck is actually broken in some of you that you cannot understand this?

I think it's great but what kind of food will be on offer? Surely providing for less children and spending a bit more would be a better option.

Exactly, why would child free people pay for other people’s kids to go to nursery, what sort of parents are you that you don’t provide that for your own kids? Talk about freeloaders.

It's a very good way to spend money imo. Kids who are hungry can't learn and might disrupt things for others. If it's available to all there is no stigma attached, which kids are very aware of. It's an investment in the future of our country.