Supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, cereal firm Weetabix and charity Magic Breakfast have been announced as sponsors of the government’s flagship free breakfast club scheme.
The 750 schools currently taking part in the pilot of the government’s free breakfast clubs will be able to secure discounted food products, free delivery, one-off vouchers and access to purchasing platforms from the different partners from October 23.
It comes after Schools Week revealed the government was looking for sponsor offers to make a “greater impact” on the scheme ahead of national rollout in August.
Meeting agendas obtained under the Freedom of Information Act also show businesses including Tesco and Kellogg’s met with the DfE to discuss the sponsorship.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the sponsors were “making our offer bigger and better” to “ensure every child gets the best start in life”. But critics have warned the sponsor deals show a “limited approach” and should “not be relied upon to make the programme work”.
What are the offers?
Four companies have signed tenders with the DfE: supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s, cereal brand Weetabix and charity Magic Breakfast.
Magic Breakfast, which already works to provide free breakfast clubs in more than a thousand schools, will offer “a range of discounted products against recommended retail price, inclusive of delivery” as well as an online ordering platform for all schools.
The charity told Schools Week products including bread, cereal, porridge, milk, yoghurt and fruits would be discounted by up to 64 per cent.
Morrisons will offer schools a free anytime day delivery pass and will develop a dedicated “breakfasts clubs” landing page for schools to use when ordering food. A yearly free delivery pass at any time costs £70, according to the supermarket’s website.
Meanwhile Sainsbury’s will offer a £200 giftcard for each school, which will last until the end of the academic year. Schools will only be able to purchase food and drink items with the voucher, the DfE said.
Cereal brand Weetabix is offering schools up to 15 per cent discount on Ready Brek and Weetabix through wholesale retailers.
How will it work?
In August, Schools Week revealed the government was looking for sponsors for its free breakfast club scheme. Around 750 schools are currently piloting the scheme, and are given 60p per child.
Schools will be free to take up a contract with any of the sponsors of the scheme. The DfE would have “no liability” to the sponsor for the performance, the draft contract said.
Tender documents stated: “We believe additional benefits can be delivered from working closely with partner organisations to support schools in enhancing their free breakfast club delivery.
“There are many successful corporate and industry partnerships already occurring at local level, and the [Department for Education] seeks to build on this existing good practice by harnessing and coordinating to ensure equitable access at a national level.”
Sponsors will not be paid for their partnership with the DfE but will be getting a “package of promotional rights”.
The DfE confirmed schools currently piloting free breakfast clubs will be able to take up offers from October 23.
Tesco and Kelloggs interested
Freedom of Information documents reveal Tesco and Kellanova, which owns Kellogg’s cereal, met with the DfE to discuss the opportunity whilst it was live.
Tesco met with the department’s breakfast club policy and commercials teams on July 30 and August 11.
Representatives from Kellanova also met with the DfE on July 24. The company has confirmed with Schools Week it did not submit an offer, but will be a product supplied by Magic Breakfast as part of the scheme.
The company, which has been running primary school breakfast clubs for nearly three decades, said it “will continue to offer our support to help the government meet its ambition”
‘Funding ought to be sufficient’
Some 79 early adopter schools pulled out of the programme in April over funding concerns – with some even claiming they would lose money by replacing current schemes with the new one.
All the schools were replaced, but there are wider concerns about the financial impact on schools of the national rollout.
Barbara Crowther, from food charity Sustain, said she was “concerned by the limited approach” taken by the DfE over the sponsors.
“Fundamentally, schools should not have been scraping around for discounts and deals – funding ought to be sufficient to support schools to work flexibly, cover their costs and buy healthy and sustainably food from wherever they choose”.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers said in August that partners “should not be relied upon to make the government’s programme work”.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “By joining forces with some of Britain’s most loved food brands, we are making our offer bigger and better – backing our schools, supporting families, and ensuring every child gets the best start in life.”
Your thoughts