Page 4 | Free breakfast club-offensive government campaign

JTT95 · 2025-09-19T06:59:51+00:00

The government has lost the plot. This campaign is ridicolous. Listing things you could do instead of having breakfast with your child (while the child eats processed toast and jam or cereal at school instead of sharing a family meal). They are pushing some strange anti-family agenda.

Itstheshowgirl · 19/09/2025 09:37

twistyizzy · 19/09/2025 09:26

And those are the children who are least likely to be dropped at school early in order to access a "free" breakfast

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Yes unfortunately and no amount of expensive marketing campaigns are likely to change that.

twistyizzy · 19/09/2025 09:40

Itstheshowgirl · 19/09/2025 09:37

Yes unfortunately and no amount of expensive marketing campaigns are likely to change that.

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Precisely.

Plus it's taxpayer money paying for that marketing. They have to advertise it because the take up rate by schools is so low due to the lack of funding. Instead of increasing the funding they pay for marketing. Fucking batshittery

ThreeTescoBags · 19/09/2025 09:48

There will be families who would benefit from sending their children to breakfast club who currently don't out of pride / shame. I see the message of the poster as being, 'breakfast club is here if you want it, it's available to everyone, here's a silly poster to advertise it'

There are a number of posters on this thread that seem to want the message to be 'are you a poor who can't afford bread? Are you one of those tragic working mums? Poor you <head tilt>, such a shame the government has to fork out to provide for your kids, but nevermind, here's breakfast club <cries in upf> , you'll be in our prayers'

I remember that attitude from the 80s, let's not go back there, eh.

sminted · 19/09/2025 09:50

I'm p/t & sometimes drop a dc early to breakfast club as they want to go. Obviously on other mornings I bake bread and we eat together to repent for my sins.

sminted · 19/09/2025 09:54

I see it at our school. The kids of the poorest parents are being fed all this shit, while the better off kids have parents who can afford to work part time/flexibly/wfh and are arriving at school having had porridge and fresh fruit, eggs and home made sourdough toast.

I work in a school, I often but the school porridge, it's lovely!

Mulledjuice · 19/09/2025 09:56

JTT95 · 19/09/2025 08:14

I’m not talking about people who need it. This is about pushing it needlessly to people who could be having breakfast with their child but are encouraged to have 23 round trips to Spain instead. Bonkers.

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You're over-interprering it. You think that's a list of suggestions for parents to do without their children? Watching Peppa?

It's just a way of visualising the number of hours. Don't sweat it.

Jellycatspyjamas · 19/09/2025 11:03

NuovaPilbeam · 19/09/2025 08:17

Honestly all this stuff worries me. The food kids are fed in all these settings gets worse every day, with very little fresh fruit and veg, hardly any protein and a reliance on cheap, long life, over processed carbs.

I see it at our school. The kids of the poorest parents are being fed all this shit, while the better off kids have parents who can afford to work part time/flexibly/wfh and are arriving at school having had porridge and fresh fruit, eggs and home made sourdough toast. School dinners are abysmal, the catering companies can't provide enough calories on the budget so include confectionery (despite guidelines against it). Again the better off kids are sent with much nicer pack ups from home.

It will create a social divide between the kids subjected to this, who will grow up less healthy, and those who aren't.

The focus should be on helping parents work part time hours (and encouraging employers to allow this) that balance family and work. This is economically a good thing too as it means people stay in work rather than quitting to become a SAHP.

I work from home with some flexibility - my kids have never had home made sour dough toast for breakfast. Breakfast clubs serve a purpose, if you don’t need them, don’t use them but let’s not shame parents who don’t have time to lovingly make avocado on toast for their precious offspring before school.

Having cereal and toast at school isn’t going to undermine an otherwise healthy diet, and may just provide food for children whose parents are struggling for whatever reason.

NuovaPilbeam · 19/09/2025 12:02

Right - so having a daily breakfast clubs which allows slightly earlier drop off makes life much easier vs having to arrange all sorts of elaborate plans and negotiations with work because you can’t physically drop your child off then get to work on time…!

Omg you've completely missed my point.
I do not think it is good for children to have such a long day in school amd childcare (e.g 8am til 6pm), nor to be fed a cheap, poor quality diet at school. there is a breakfast club at my children's school. It would be easier for me to use it but I do not, because I think the effort is outweighed by the negative impacts on the child. I think there should he a focus on balancing helping parents retain a career, but not constantly at the expense of children's wellbeing.

I am a big proponent of parents working. I work 30 hours a week. But i think that central initiatives need to balance considering what is best for children's wellbeing and not only what enables adults to work as many hours as possible.

CherryLaine · 19/09/2025 15:18

I don’t understand where people find the time and mental energy to get all wound up about this sort of thing though.

Not busy enough.

Yamap · 19/09/2025 15:31

tripleginandtonic · 19/09/2025 09:02

Diddums.

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Why are you saying Diddums to a teacher being massively overworked following the sacking of their colleagues? That’s a really weird reply.

Katemax82 · 19/09/2025 16:18

I used to work for a cleaning company who's website suggested people should hire cleaners so they can free up some time ..then suggested stupid stuff like "to read a good book" or "have some retail therapy"
People use services for important stuff I thought...

HerewardtheSleepy · 19/09/2025 16:23

Your post is so bizarre, I can only assume it is politically motivated.

BigHouseLittleHouse · 19/09/2025 17:16

I hate having to use breakfast club.

On the days ds age 6 is home, he has time for 20 mins of reading and spelling practice before cycling or scooting to school. It’s calm, high-quality time with my son where we connect and ready ourselves for the day ahead.

Versus breakfast-club days when we are dashing to get out for 7.30am.

I don’t mind toast and diluted juice though! He has fruit at breaktime and veg after school. What’s wrong with juice and toast?

HighLadyofTheNightCourt · 20/09/2025 04:14

HerewardtheSleepy · 19/09/2025 16:23

Your post is so bizarre, I can only assume it is politically motivated.

The OP has another thread going on how it’s a ‘shame’ some mums are ‘forced’ to go back to work. It seems they are offended by initiatives which support women back into the workplace.

Tereseta · 20/09/2025 04:31

Yamap · 19/09/2025 08:09

Well it’s just fantastic that they have hurt the private schools with VAT to provide shit like this. My DSis teaches in a private school and she has had colleagues made redundant and seen her workload increase to unmanageable levels. Where there were 4 reasonable sized classes doing a subject, there are now 3 giant ones - the kids can’t fit into the classrooms without moving desks every lesson and the remaining teachers have a stupid workload that isn’t really possible. Race to the bottom as usual with this idiotic ideology.

Im not sure how providing free breakfast club to children, some of whom wouldn't even have a breakfast before school at home is comparable to this. There are a huge amount of children who will benefit from food first thing and starting school on time.

BrokenWingsCantFly · 20/09/2025 05:17

It is strange. Assume it is to increase the update to have the stats to boast about how well their policies are doing.
Anyone which needs breakfast club to get to work will already be doing so. This advert is targeting those that don't need it by making out you could be doing better things with your time than providing a breakfast for your child.
When my DD was in primary I worked part time. She would be in breakfast club the days I worked, or later on went to uni, she would be having breakfast at home the days I didn't have anywhere to get to.
Don't think it is a positive thing to promote providing for your child in your free time as a time wasted.
Edited to add it has been free here all that time but still mainly only the workers would take it up.
A simple poster of breakfast club is now free for all would do it, without implying doing it at home is a waste of time