Primary School Head Offers Qualified Support for Free Breakfast Club Expansion

A head teacher at a primary school has expressed approval for the national initiative to establish free breakfast clubs, though she noted that the practical implementation “could be tricky”. Becky Waters, who leads Dogsthorpe Infant School in Peterborough, currently oversees a program where over 240 pupils receive complimentary bagel pieces through the Department for Education (DfE)’s school breakfast initiative. The government recently disclosed an additional £30 million in funding designated to bolster this program and extend free breakfast clubs to all primary schools. A spokesperson for the DfE stated that the department was “kicking on” with this commitment and that additional details regarding the scheme would be provided at a later time. Mrs Waters explained that each morning at Dogsthorpe Infant School commences with one or two staff members arriving early to cut bagels and prepare food for the students. “I have been known to get the bagels ready in the morning if needed,” she stated. She added, “For some of the pupils that is the difference between them eating in the morning and not eating, so that is a real crucial part for some of them.” Mrs Waters clarified that preparing the bagels requires approximately 30 to 40 minutes for a staff member, making toasting and buttering them impractical. “If we had to toast our bagels that’s not just a normal kitchen toaster doing that, that would need equipment as well,” she noted. Given the logistical challenges of preparing bagels, Mrs Waters expressed a desire for clarity on the practical implementation of free breakfast clubs. “Targeting things like breakfast clubs is absolutely amazing,” she commented, further stating: “Schools and heads like myself are thinking, ‘how logistically will this work?'” She elaborated, “The logistics could be tricky to work out [and] that money has to cover staff costs as well as food costs and equipment.” The £30 million initiative is intended to support the current school breakfast program, which serves approximately 2,700 schools, and to establish new free breakfast clubs, with the initial 750 scheduled to launch in the spring. Cambridge Kids Club, a provider of breakfast clubs and wraparound care services in Cambridgeshire, voiced apprehension regarding the funding mechanism for the scheme. Panash Shah, the director, remarked: “I think it’s been underfunded at this stage.” He pointed out that breakfast clubs encompass a care component alongside the provision of food and equipment, a factor that requires consideration. “We staff at a ratio of one to eight children and I just don’t see how schools are going to staff at anywhere near the ratios I would do,” he stated. He further commented: “I would be much happier if the provision was focused for children from low-income families.” A DfE spokesperson reiterated the government’s commitment to implementing free breakfast clubs in every primary school. The initial 750 new breakfast clubs are slated to commence in chosen primary schools in April 2025, forming a “test and learn phase” prior to their nationwide deployment. The DfE spokesperson affirmed: “We will work closely with the sector as we develop the universal breakfast club programme to consider how best to put in place new arrangements and ensure that every child is ready to learn at the start of the school day.” For updates on East of England news, information is available on X, Instagram, and Facebook via BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire, or BBC Suffolk.