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

I don't buy the let's give it everyone to get rid of the stigma arguement tbh. Even when I was at school I had free meals and no one knew because you paid by finger print.
Now I have children in primary school and you order it online I believe this is the case in most schools. There is no way anyone knows who has free meals and who paid.

Should those parents be prosecuted alongside all those other parents who take their kids out of school to go on holiday in term time because it’s cheaper? Or is that not the same thing in your world?

Has your school been offered a trial? It's 78p per child for PPG compared to 60p for non PPG. Does your school have the space and staff who would want to start work earlier? The only other funding is £1000 for the summer term.

I believe it was determined that it would be more cost-effective to just roll it out as an overall policy than to do individual means testing. I think it also has been determined to have helped school attendance and social cohesion, and the eliminating the stigma around poverty/fsm ultimately creates more a more productive society with more social mobility.

I was involved with school governance at the time it was rolled out, and I think the analyses were very heavily leaning towards it ultimately being cost effective (iirc PwC did one).

It was a mayoral decision, so people have the right to elect or decline to elect someone based around their policy positions.

I think it’s more about getting more parents back into work than giving children free meals…

Id lift the two child cap THIS is what THEY would do if it was about the kids!!!!!!!!!!

My DC’s breakfast club is £6.50 per day, 7.30 - 8.45am. Perhaps they are making a huge profit, but 63p or whatever the gov funding is seems way off the mark. Another badly thought out initiative!

That was the initial plan - free breakfasts and 1/3 of a teacher per school.

Unfortunately they haven't ring-fenced any money they make. And the chances are that the policy will actually lose money.

The government are funding 4 KCs to fight the case against the legislation through the courts. The number of private schools closing is at an all time high. The number of private school pupils transferring to state (or opting for state instead of private at key entry points) is likely to be heading for the kind of numbers that means the policy will cost rather than make money.

And that's before you add in the cost of more EHCP applications and the cost of more SEN kids in state.

At 63p per pupil per day a lot of schools have already pulled out of the scheme as it's unaffordable.

I think they’re a brilliant idea. It means fewer kids will be late, they’re all fed and ready to learn, and parents are more likely to be able to get to work for 9am.

Breakfast club is for getting your child into school on time. It gives you a big time window instead of the "between 8.30 and 8.40" which means you can't get the 8.15 bus but you also miss the 8.30.
The reality of universal free breakfasts is that those who can afford it have their choice at home, those who don't are happy with the basic school offer.

I work in one of the most deprived areas in schools. I would love it if we could give everyone breakfast. There is nothing worse than hearing the child you are teaching’s tummy audibly rumble.

I agree with you in a way. Children can't learn if they're hungry and if their parents are not able to/willing to feed them, then the school has to. It stands to reason that food should be available for some.

I'm not sure what percentage of parents are able and willing to give their children breakfast, but it seems a complete waste of money if those children are eating free food. Let's say it's 50-50 as to who actually needs a breakfast to be provided. I'd prefer it if those children who do need it had double the money spent on them and had higher quality food.

I'm also concerned that we're babying parents by saying they're not responsible for giving their children breakfast, but in the end I hate to think of children being hungry and not reaching their educational or health potential, so I think a good healthy breakfast and lunch is a good idea. I'm not convinced that's what's available, though.

I assume (like many people) that this is more about childcare and getting women into work than feeding children. But if it does help hungry kids too, then I’m all for it too. Presumably you won’t be forced to send your children to it if you don’t want to.

Although if they’re only funding 63p per child then I’m not sure how it’s feasible for the school.

Our local high school has a breakfast club that’s supported by local charities. Mostly the food is donated. It supposedly makes a big difference to a lot of the children (deprived area) and everyone agrees that it being universal means that it has more uptake due to the lack of stigma.

Imagine begrudging kids a free bowl of snide cornflakes in the morning 🙃

My point was shy should EVERY Londoner get it for free, imagine someone who's parents earn 100k gets free lunch because they live in London and someone who's parents earn 8k doesn't because they don't live in London. You see why I think it's bullshit?

The quality of the meals would be better if people who could afford to pay paid. Reception -year 2 everyone gets it free is it any wonder secondary school lunches are better than primary school lunches.

Personally I do think the threshold should be raised it's only less than 7.4k income at the moment maybe it should be more like 18-20 k

I think it's a terrible idea. If there are people out there that can't afford to feed their children breakfast then that needs addressing and if there are people out there choosing not to feed their child breakfast then so does that.

Most parents can and do feed their children, so all their children don't need a free breakfast.

The stats on child poverty in the UK are disgraceful but successive governments - Labour and Tory - have facilitated this, allowing wages to rot, encouraging housing insecurity and killing off social mobility. At some stage they're going to have to consider y'know taxing billionaires to pay for stuff.
"Poverty: facts and figures | CPAG" cpag.org.uk/child-poverty/poverty-facts-and-figures

I didn't call it a great breakfast I only defended the 40g of oats, the correct amount of milk is 275ml, I do have it with fruit and a bowl of porridge will contain more protein than a bowl of cornflakes. 40g oats, 275ml milk makes a decent amount and is thick because the oats soak up the milk

edited to add spaces

Op, did you benefit from non means-tested free nursery hours? Same thing to me.

I'm a TA in a primary school, and tbh the children that are turning up hungry without breakfast are the ones whose parents can't be arsed to get out of bed at a reasonable time to actually get their children to school on time and give them something to eat, so I don't see how having to get the kids there even earlier is going to work?! We do keep a stash of breakfast bars and fruit for any kids who are hungry when they arrive for this very reason.

Great idea, children will socialise and eat together, this will promote cohesion - there are other areas to penny-pinch if you want savings.

Yes the trial is 60p per child, and 78p per child who is receipt of ppg. The school gets £500 to set it up and £1000 this year from April to July for running costs. Anyone who works in a school can see why schools are withdrawing from the trial as it won't cover the staffing and admin costs.

So its already happening. Knew it.

I agree OP. There should be free Breakfast club for all pupils in receipt of FSM. Once in breakfast club , kids don't know who is there on the basis of FSM and who has paid so I don't think the argument of stigma applies. There'll probably be a lot of mums driving up in their SUVs etc, and dropping off their kids to go to the hairdressers and Zumba classes

what a jealous, sad, almost cruel post