To wonder what will happen about the government's 'free' breakfast club proposal?!

[Redlocks30]

They have been talking a lot today about saving families £450 a year, but I just can't see how this is going to work?

They are paying 60p per child per day, which might pay for a Weetabix and a bit of toast, but doesn't take into account the staffing (and any energy costs) that this will require!

We already have a small school with a successful breakfast club running, with smallish numbers but all can sit down and eat together. Parents pay a reasonable amount for it and this pays for 1/2 members of staff, depending on numbers. If this was opened up to all parents as a free option, we simply wouldn't have enough space to put everyone in the hall-it would be mayhem.

The school budget doesn't have any spare cash in it for TA staffing costs (normally paid for by parents paying) so where are schools expected to find this money from?

@Redlocks30 what is your role?

If every school in the area had to offer free breakfast then the likelihood of local supermarkets giving them all free food is minimal.

The TAs hours haven't changed. They either stay until 4pm and staff the daily homework club, or start at 8am and staff the breakfast clubs. They're already contracted for those hours and have been for many years, it's nothing extra.

Who is now doing the work that those TAs did until 4pm?

Are the TAs still having to do the work but cram it in or end up working later but with no pay?

Or are other teachers and TAs now having to cover that work for them?

Luckily there are more supermarkets than there are schools.

Even without the goodwill of our local Adsa, the cost of proving the food/drink is minimal. We spend over 10 times more on proving free school shoes to children who need them than food budget for breakfast club.

I think a few headteachers already said their schools were will not take part as it's so poorly funded, so the schools will have to top it up. Just wonder also what on earth schools are supposed to feed the kids on this sort of rate of 60p. Won't be anything else but processed shit. I also bet that disabled children will be once again excluded as there won't be enough staffing to cover this cost. It's just a poorly thought out idea. I have no clue what they were smoking when they cooked this idea up.

It's a good initiative but underfunded. Let's say a school had take up of 50 children. They will receive funding of around £30 per session.

30 minutes will cost the school:

X 2 TA wages for 0.75 hours - including set up and tidy after plus on costs of 30% - £26.50

Leaving £3.50 per day to feed 50 children (7 pence per child) which will not cover the cost of bread/porridge/fruit.

Schools might be able to break even if limiting numbers to 30 (£18 funding, £13.25 staffing cost, £4.75 to feed 30 children - 16p each).

Welcome to working in school leadership where the government think money grows on trees!

FWIW I think the major supermarkets should be required to pay a local levy that covers the cost of feeding children in schools - it would make minimal impact to their profits.

Lots of people here who look for problems, not solutions.

Our TAs either work 8am-3.30pm (and support breakfast clubs) or they work 8.30-4pm (and support homework club). All contracted and paid for the same number of hours.

I've got one lady who works 7.30-3, her choice. She requested it to be able to do PM pick up of her grandchildren, for her daughter. Works out nicely for us. She picks up the Asda order first-thing and sets up for breakfast club. That's the sort of thing that comes with finding solutions, rather than problems.

@Inertia
They don't start till 9am here.
Obviously- it would start 15-20 mins after your particular school started.

This!!
They are making it more difficult than it needs to be!

I'm not finding problems. I'm simply asking a question.

Presumably those TAs weren't sat doing nothing between 3:30-4pm and presumably that work still needs doing. So if they aren't doing that work, who now is?

Another question - where does the breakfast club take place? We would have to open up classrooms to fit in more children than come to our 'restricted in numbers' paid for breakfast club. As an old school building we don't have a big hall - lunch is staggered - and no separate dining hall. We don't even have our own kitchen.

I guess the issue is also what happens to any existing paid for breakfast clubs in school? Do they still offer this with longer hours, or do they stop that and move to only offering the free 30 mins?

Sounds lovely with the book aspect - they could even have a nice piece of music to listen to chosen by a different child each day to bring another educational aspect to it.

Minimal clear up too with one big plate ☺️

Childcare aspect would still be needed. Just call it morning club. Should be cheaper too.

I don't think asking questions about how it will be implemented is moaning.
It's simply asking questions.

And as most changes to policies and initiatives do have a direct affect on teaching staff, be them teachers or TAs, then obviously those staff would be curious as to how they may be affected.

Last time (in my area) it was sponsored by the supermarkets so the government money went on staff but a lot of it was goodwill from the staff (free labour)

So your solution is hoping there will be TAs who don't mind being told their agreed working hours are changing? Hoping that for some earlier hours will be suitable? That's not a realistic solution for every school, nor is it feasible for most.

And yet no-one is asking why parents aren't able to feed their own kids breakfast! If the government think that schools can provide a proper breakfast for 60p then why can't parents and why aren't we tackling the root cause?
Obviously I know the answer ie money. But if you've got such a societal problem that so many parents can't feed their kids breakfast then you've got much bigger problems and providing underfunded breakfast clubs, which many schools caht afford to run, is just an ineffective sticking plaster.

What about children with allergies? One plate wouldn't work unfortunately.

Yum could be right except that turning jubsnon offer are zero hours or so n industries that nobody will work in because it’s beneath them and seemingly benefits pay more.

*You

As per my post, that responsibility obviously lies with your headteacher and SLT.

obviously a regular class teacher will not be tasked with implementing a new government policy school wide. And of course, if they were asked to do so, they would refuse.

I have nothing against (properly funded) breakfast clubs with children eating, and then playing.

But... having young children eating toasted bagels (with presumably some butter?!) and no plate whilst reading books sounds like a classroom covered in crumbs and books with greasy fingerprints. I think there are good reasons why public libraries don't let people in with food and drink.

Absolutely. Another reason, aside from allergies, that the 1 big plate idea just won't work.

I know it sounds lovely, all sitting round eating toast and listening to a story or music, but some of us know the realities of classrooms and it won't work. Or at least not as simply as being suggested.

@MonetWaterlilies
I'm not sure about the allergy thing. Assume they can have some fruit instead. The bagel breakfast wasn't my post.
What do your school do? @RitaConnors