Children at eleven schools in Hull and East Yorkshire are set to benefit from new free breakfast clubs from April. This forms part of the Government’s pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children.
Last April, nineteen schools across Hull and the East Riding signed up to the breakfast club pilot scheme as ‘early adopters’. Schools are encouraged to offer healthy, varied and nutritious breakfasts, with examples from wheat bisks and porridge to fresh fruit and yoghurt.
79 new schools in the wider Yorkshire and Humber area are to join the free breakfast club programme in April, bringing the total number of clubs in the region to 183. This means, over 47,000children in the region are set to benefit from Best Start free breakfast clubs.
Schools already enrolled on the programme across Yorkshire and the Humber have served up to 800,000 meals and saved families up to £450 per year. Meanwhile, children are benefitting from healthy breakfasts and being in school earlier, with evidence showing improved attendance, attainment and behaviour.
Applications are now open for schools to join the scheme in September. It is hoped that by September 680,000 children across the country will benefit from the clubs.
Following new polling, the Government say the clubs are helping to cut stigma about receiving help, with six in ten (60%) parents more likely to access support when it’s available to everyone. The data reveals that nearly four in ten (38%) single parents feel guilt when accessing free support, compared to 28% of parents raising a family with a partner.
The Government’s Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has celebrated the further roll out of the clubs. She said: “Free breakfast clubs are revolutionising morning routines up and down the country, becoming an essential part of modern-day life for working families.
“From settling a child into the school day to helping parents get to work, free breakfast clubs are giving every child the best start in life – delivering on our plan for national renewal. I was raised by a single parent, so I know first-hand the struggles facing parents trying to make ends meet and how important it is to tackle outdated stigmas with practical support that people can feel every day.”
Frank Young, Chief Executive of Parentkind said: “This is good news for parents and especially parents juggling the pressures of work and school drop offs. We know that parents want breakfast clubs and it helps them to get children to school and hold down jobs.
“It’s particularly important for children to start their day well and get ready for school. Parents will applaud this news.”
Lists of new schools in Hull and East Yorkshire that will offer the clubs from April:
- Southcoates Primary Academy
- The Parks Primary Academy
- Craven Primary Academy
- Chiltern Primary School
- New Pasture Lane Primary School, Bridlington
- Lift Green Way
- Biggin Hill Primary School
- Wansbeck Primary School
- Cleeve Primary School
- Bude Park Primary School
- Woodland Primary School
By: Andrew Spence, LDRS
