Schools are being urged to come forward to become “early adopters” of the government’s new breakfast clubs programme.
The Department for Education has published guidance for schools interested in applying to join the pilot.
Labour pledged breakfast clubs in all primary schools in its manifesto, and has so far announced £30 million in funding to pilot the scheme in up to 750 schools from next April.
The DfE said early adopters would support it to “understand how schools design and implement their offer at a local level” and “identify any barriers to implementation and delivery challenges to understand the support that schools need, such as space and premises requirements”.
They will also help government to “better understand parental demand and pupil take-up over time”.
Here’s what schools need to know…
1. Which schools are eligible?
All state schools with primary-aged children are eligible to apply.
This includes state primary schools, special schools and alternative provision and infant, junior, first, middle and all-through schools.
The DfE has said it will welcome interest from schools without existing breakfast clubs as well as those with an existing offer.
It will also welcome interest from schools that already work with or are considering working with private, voluntary or independent providers, including childminders, to deliver clubs.
They also want to hear from schools that “may face initial challenges with setting up breakfast club provision (this will help us to understand how best to support schools to rollout new breakfast clubs in the future)”.
Early adopter schools will be selected “across different school types, sizes and geographical areas to ensure a wide representation”.
2. Don’t duplicate funding with other schemes
For schools already receiving funding from another source, such as the last government’s national school breakfast programme (NSBP), “our expectation is that you will end current funding or engage with the relevant funder to agree how it can be used in a way that ensures there is no duplication of funding”.
Schools that transfer from the NSBP will continue to be able to order food and receive support from Family Action if they move over to the early adopters scheme.
3. Minimum requirements
Schools will “at a minimum” have to deliver provision that provides “healthy food” and compliant with the school food standards.
Their clubs must provide at least 30 minutes of free childcare before the start of a school day, and be open to all primary-age children on roll.
Clubs must be provided free to parents and carers and regularly report data and take part in an evaluation of the scheme “as requested”.
4. Schools could run clubs off-site
Schools also have “flexibility” to deliver “beyond the minimum expectations”, the government said.
“We want you to have the opportunity to test different ways to implement the breakfast club policy to meet the needs of your pupils and their families.”
Examples given by the DfE include working with private, voluntary and independent organisations to offer provision, and offering clubs at another site “as long as it remains convenient for parents and carers”.
The DfE said it would “support” schools to “actively test and innovate your approaches” and use the learning to “inform the rollout of breakfast clubs on a national scale”.
Guidance and supporting materials, including case studies and templates, will be published in January.
The DfE will also provide “further targeted support, including on food procurement, to successful early adopter schools before the April 2025 launch”. It has not said what form this support will take.
5. How will the funding work?
Early adopter schools will get funding directly from the government. It can be used to cover food, delivery and staffing costs.
The DfE will publish “full details of how funding will be determined alongside the guidance in January 2025”.
Schools will receive a one-off payment between April and May 2025 to “assist with set-up costs), and a second payment in arrears between September and November 2025.
Schools will receive funding based on the number of children attending the breakfast club.
But some schools will also be eligible for an additional amount based on additional need, measured by pupils eligible for free school meals at some point in the previous six years, and variation in staffing costs based on schools’ geographical location.
6. A further ‘support package’ coming
In addition to direct funding, the DfE said it recognised “the importance of ensuring that practical support is available to schools as they seek to establish high-quality breakfast club provision”.
“This is why we are funding a package of support for all schools in the scheme. We will confirm further details of the support available in early 2025.”
7. What happens next?
The department is inviting expressions of interest from schools from today until December 20.
Officials will then contact schools in January to confirm whether their expression of interest has been successful, and they will be invited to confirm acceptance.
The DfE will also hold a webinar on December 5 to explain more about the scheme and application process.
8. When will the scheme be fully rolled out?
Ministers have said they will legislate so primary schools have a legal requirement to offer breakfast clubs, but the timeframe remains unclear.
The government has allocated around £30 million for the scheme so far, a long way off its manifesto pledge of £315 million a year once the scheme is fully rolled out.
Earlier this month, Schools Week reported that a national rollout may not happen until April 2026 at the earliest.
This appears to have been confirmed today in a report by the Daily Mirror, but the government is yet to say exactly when it will roll the scheme out nationally.
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