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

I'm a reception teacher and I'm pro this. Children do not learn as well as they could if they come into school hungry. You'd be surprised how many children come in without having breakfast, too. Older children may be able to help themselves to breakfast at home, but the younger ones most likely don't.
And an extra half an hour of teaching would be pointless if the children you are teaching are more focussed on the rumble in their tummies.

And that coke and crisps would have cost more than some toast and a cup of milk. That’s not about money that’s about laziness ( for whatever reasons) and ignorance.
As a teacher I have no issue with the concept but, as per usual, no ones actually providing the money to pay for it. Most places won’t be able to provide it.

If it was funded properly it would be a good scheme.

But its another scheme not properly funded.

Breakfast club cost £2.50 at local primary school. Covering staff and food not profit. If the funding is really 63p a day... whete is the rest of the costs coming from?

Most people who work in education have seen a hungry child who didn't have breakfast.

Sometimes because they won't eat breakfast. But mostly just hungry. I used to feed the kids in my class.

Sure, breakfast food is cheap. There's still a lot of hungry kids out there.

Coke and a packet of crisps doesn't strike me as poverty, but as extremely careless, thoughtless and lazy parenting. These are the sorts of idiots who shouldn't have kids!

But coke and a packet of crisps isn't cheaper that toast and milk, is it? That's neglect/ignorance rather than poverty. That's not to say those parents don't need help, but that it's not just about not being able to afford food.

Is that because they couldn't afford the breakfast though or because the parent was neglectful? A bag of crisps and a bottle of coke every morning probably costs more than a loaf of bread, cereal and milk for the week?

It is probably to get benefit Mums in the job market without the excuse of children’s starting times being a hindrance. I expect many benefit sanctions to follow too, which ironically could make the food poverty much worse. However, I still think free breakfast clubs are a good idea the model works in many countries abroad.

I think it's a nudge to getting mothers back to work and getting the economy going. And if it helps children who need feeding and helping them concentrate on lessons, so much the better and there's no stigma because it's open to all. Great policy.

It's only 30 minutes free so if your child starts at 08:45 then it's only from 08:15. I can't see any private or current paid school ones panicking over this as people who pay in excess of £6 a session for drop off at 07:30 won't be taking up the offer of a free 30 minutes.

If the reason the children are hungry is because they're living in poverty or social deprivation then will their parents take them to the breakfast clubs?

I have taught fast growing teenagers whose families could not afford breakfast. They were allowed a ‘free’ lunch. I think means testing is expensive. Children need food and eating together is sociable.

Gad not another mean-spirited poster banging on about sending money on child poverty.

I'm happy that we are feeding children.

A third of children are in poverty and there's little assistance for struggling parents. I knew a little girl whose mum gave her a coke and packet of crisps for breakfast.

In some areas children go through the day hungry and they can't focus. It's a sticking plaster.

And you’d be correct in your suspicions.

Orphan Crushing Machine.

I completely agree with you. As I understand it the breakfast consists of cereals which companies like Kelloggs may provide the school with for free, and toast which has to be done by someone who volunteers to help to do all this. I used to do a temporary job in a primary school allocating all the fruit to all classrooms. The fruit was great quality but mainly not eaten by the children.

I think schools very much care that children go to school hungry, but with the funding the government have given for this, the numbers don't add up for a lot of schools! Especially with the way the tories decimated school funding. They are struggling so much already. To then have to fund some of the breakfast club costs as the government don't pay enough (the same with early years funded hours) it will break the schools completely.

If it’s free for everyone, it’s much, much more likely to be taken up by those who need it - there’s still stigma attached to poverty.

Children who are hungry cannot learn or play.

It's not about hungry children. It's about getting kids in school and getting mothers in work.

And like everything they do for kids, it's woefully underfunded already.

I once worked for a local authority that provided cheap (not free) breakfast clubs. It was promoted as a way to address poverty and help working parents. However, its main intentions were to improve education by getting children to start school on time and to attend school in the first place – but this was kept quiet.

Exactly.

It's like they don't care that some children go to school hungry.