Free breakfast clubs for ALL primary school children? Why?

[Safi7]

I’ve been overseas since the election so a bit out of the loop, but is it true that Labour are going to make it standard that all primary schools must now offer free breakfasts to all children, regardless of need?

Fair enough for children from deprived families - but all children?

Where is the money for this coming from?

Are Labour actually saying that in 2024, its now to much to expect parents to actually bother to feed their own children breakfast? This responsibility can just be pushed onto schools instead - as if they haven’t got enough on? Teachers are leaving in droves as it is. Du much is out in them - the jobs is becoming more like social work in too many cases. Who will staff these breakfast clubs and make sure kids are actually eating?

Surely this is just encouraging lazy parenting - ie parents who can well afford cereal / toast / eggs etc it but just won’t bother if their kids can eat at school instead. Plus children will be dumped at school earlier than necessary, just because parents can now get away with it?

Surely it’s better to direct resources where they are actually needed, rather than turn schools into free cafes? Makes no sense.

If there's breakfast club then universal credit can lean harder on people to work/work more. Yes I am that cynical.

In the grand scheme of things it's not an expensive policy. It helps working parents, it helps people who can't afford to feed their kids, it helps kids who find transitions difficult. I don't really see what's not to like - I assume it's that you think it's a waste of money? What's your view on universal infant free school meals, out of interest?

By all means don't send your own kids if you're so pissed off about it but I don't really understand what you're so het up about.

As someone who ensures her kids have breakfast everyday I think it's a great idea. Some parents can't afford to feed there kids breakfast, some parents can't be bothered to feed there kids in the morning and some parents simply don't understand the importance of a good breakfast and how hunger affects kids ability to concentrate and behave.

I am in Scotland and they have rolled out free lunches until P5. It's been fantastic. Both me and DH work but are not high earners so it's been a huge saving and ensured the kids get a hot healthy lunch and try different options. The school also offers free fruit to all kids at snack time and low cost snack at break time like a slice of toast for 15 pence. I provide the kids with snacks but not everyone can afford to or does.

I think free breakfast clubs are to make working affordable to. Breakfast clubs in our city in deprived areas were I employment is about 97 percent are 50 pence in my kids school it's £5 for 40 minutes per child. It adds a huge cost so we don't use them.

It eroding family life, children will be spending so much time out of their homes and eating cheap food that long term we will have an exhausted and unhealthy generation who didn’t form the correct attachments at a young age because of all this.

I think it will be used less by those that need it and more by working families that need to commute, I'd tie it in with FSM, we get free school dinners for all in London, it's ridiculous we earn plenty, target the money on those that need it. Maybe create a FSM+ for those who are technically not eligible but need it.

You make a fair point but ignore many others.

1. The stigma of being 'poor' and eating breakfast at school
2. The costs of administering/prosecuting means testing
3. The fact that people with multimillion pound pension pots still get state pensions... etc

If they really wanted to help they’d look at properly funding the nursery 15/30 hours that parents aren’t paying more before their dc are eligible to offset the free hours not paying childcare settings enough.
They would make the fruit and veg scheme for all years even secondary to offer a nutritious snack mid morn so those who didn’t get breakfast for whatever reason would still get something but a healthy option .

What an ignorant post.

I wish MN would get rid of all this self satisfied bullshit. It's every five minutes on here now.

It's wraparound childcare. It's not about not being arsed or dropping them off as soon as I can 'get away with it'. I'd love to be able to afford to drop my hours so I wouldn't need any wraparound childcare. But unfortunately there is a cost of living crisis. Maybe you've heard, or maybe you've been too busy reading the Daily Mail and brandishing your fist at "parents these days".

I quite agree that "in general, it's parents' responsibility to feed their own kids and get them to school on time". However, it is not as black and white as that: I'm a parent of a 17yr old and a 10yr old (both NT and have no problems with school), so have been doing the parenting thing for quite a few years. However, I'm also a single parent, working FT (I've always worked FT, apart from when I was at university and working PT). When the ex left, I had to change my shift times (which was NOT easy as I'm a senior nurse working on an acute NHS ward) to cover the wraparound childcare times of my youngest DC (which of course I paid for - she has just finished primary school).

Breakfast club started at 0730hrs. After-school club finished at 1830hrs. My shifts (before they were altered) started at 0700hrs and finished at 2000hrs. After they were altered, the times were 0800hrs to 1800hrs.

Had my employer not been so accommodating, I would have been screwed (eldest isn't allowed to pick up the youngest as he is under 18 and also had to get himself to school). If there was no wraparound care, I would have been doubly screwed: I need to earn a full time wage, and the normal school day is 0840 - 15:15hrs. I would not have been able to work FT hours with those school start/finish times. I do not get any help from my ex with regards to child maintenance or shared parenting. Most of my family live overseas (we're not from the UK originally) and my parents are dead. So I can't rely on other people to help with my youngest.

My family is a great example of one that needed breakfast club, even though we're not poor. Thank God, I am able to support myself, my children and the household. We are not wealthy but my kids do not go without; there is food etc in the house. However, there are MANY families in the UK who do not have this privilege. Facilitating breakfast clubs for all would be a boon for many. Like others said, it would enable parents to work longer hours/get to work on time, it would mean that kids definitely have something to eat in the mornings, it would allow children who might be anxious about school to start their day in a more relaxed way. It would also take away the stigma of free clubs for the poorer children as everyone would be able to join in.

My youngest enjoyed going to breakfast club. It was a chance for her to chat with friends before classes started.

Not much use to the child that comes to school hungry and cant concentrate until break - and fruit wont fill them up.

My DD goes to breakfast club for social reasons (she has a more relaxed morning at home if she gets up and out before DS who tends to be loud and grumpy in the morning, and she sees her friends). We can afford it, but if we couldn't we might be asking school to help because DS has significant SEN and she finds it hard to relax around him.

DS' primary school has a free breakfast club (central Scotland). It's open to all, and we're not in a deprived area. Many parents find it useful to help with childcare before starting work for the day.
For those questioning where the money for such things comes, from taxes obviously and cuts of other services. Look up the difference between the tax bandings and rates in Scotland vs the rest of the UK, and you'll see how things like this, 'free' prescriptions, university fees, etc. are paid for.

It's the childcare aspect. I am a secondary teacher and so is DH and the primary school we are likely to be offered has no before school provision at all. We'll have to find a childminder to have our children to school so we can look after other people's children from 8.30.... The cost of providing this is absolutely tiny in the grand scheme of things and would make a big difference to our family. In London they are currently providing universal free meals for KS2 as well as KS1 and I would support this happening all over too as it frees up parents to not have to make packed lunches and normalizes kids eating the same thing together/hopefully healthy food. And takes away the FSM stigma

I've heard that with similar universal benefits it's actually cheaper to provide for all people rather than the time consuming expensive bureaucracy that goes with only providing for some.
For example, in this case they'd need to buy extra (cheap) boxes of cereal and pastries which is probably much cheaper and easier than implementing a system for only certain children - which would need some form of means testing, monitoring etc. I'm sure many children won't take the free breakfasts so the fact they're offering for all won't make a huge difference in terms of cost.
There's also the fact that many children arrive at school having not had breakfast, either due to poverty or chaotic lifestyles. Coming to school hungry affects their behaviour and performance so it's beneficial for the school to have children with full tummies.

LOL it’s really funny that 30% of kids in this country and in poverty and LOL we should just leave them to starve because LOL their fat lazy parents can’t be bothered to feed them. It’s hilarious isn’t it.

Honestly I despair. There is nothing more important in this country than the welfare of children. And if believing that makes me a mumsnet village worthy then I’m absolutely fine with that. Better that than being callous and snooty and happy to see kids starve.

I think it's great. My dc secondary school does a free breakfast club and it works really well. My ds2 is too disabled to get public transport to college but not disabled enough to qualify for funded transport. We can't really afford to put the younger 3 in breakfast club every day. But because breakfast club is free at secondary school we can drop the younger ones off at 8 and have plenty of time to get ds2 to college.

I love breakfast club. Drop the kids off, they get fed, no mess at home and I get to have a coffee in peace before heading to work. Best £5 I’ve ever spent.

Offering it to all is like everything, some parents will love it, some won’t bother. Personally I think there are better things the money could be spent on but I don’t begrudge it going to breakfast for kids.

It’s not going to work like that though, because school will have to cap the capacity due to ratios and staff.

the result of this is that people will lose their breakfast club (and their morning childcare) in the name of fairness to a rota system. So parents will end up unable to work without making other and usually more expensive arrangements

there is going to be absolutely huge demand which schools won’t be able to cater to.

its so hard to staff breakfast club.

It’s not compulsory…

It's been this way in Wales for a while and it works well here. I am able to drop the kids and get into work on time. It introduces a buffer in terms of getting them there on time. If we aim to get there for the start of breakfast club and there's loads of traffic, we still aren't late to school so it does help with attendance in that respect. It also spreads out the times at which parents are dropping off so the traffic isn't as bad.
I'd say less than 50% of people take it up and even when my DC go most of the times they don't actually eat breakfast (they have it before we leave anyway but sometimes like 2nd breakfast) and just play with their friends

We don't need it, I will still be feeding my kids at home and this would not drive me to get up earlier just to get some free food. If we needed it, then I am sure it would. I think it's fine

My DD's school has two clubs - one is childcare, for younger children, but is rarely full, and for older children there is a drop in from 8 where they don't need to be supervised (you can take a younger child e.g. if you have rushed from dropping off another one - we did this when DD was at a CM and DS was at school).
The KS2 (can't remember if all KS2 or just UKS2) club doesn't require any supervision beyond the breakfast cooks, maybe a lunchtime supervisor or two as would be there for other meals.

My son goes to the breakfast club, as we were having issues with him going straight into the playground so going to the breakfast club helps give him a soft start. Since he has started going be has been happier going to the classroom. The toast is just a benefit for him.

The breakfast club starts at 8.15 and my son is there around 8.15/20.

Imagine with all the shitty things that happen in the country / world being absolutely incensed that a government wants to provide breakfast for little kids. Redirect this energy into something that matters!