Free breakfast club scheme expands to more schools
BBCFree breakfast clubs are to be introduced at 10 more primary schools in York as part of a trial expansion.
The schools will offer morning meals from the summer term, with funding from the Hungry Minds programme to run clubs for three years.
Matt Brown, headteacher at Osbaldwick Primary Academy said breakfasts at his school would help children learn and thrive and support families during challenging times.
City of York Council's executive member for Children, Young People and Education Bob Webb said officials had chosen the schools where they believed the biggest difference could be made to struggling children and families.
The schools chosen for the expansion are:
- Haxby Road Primary
- Hob Moor Primary
- Lakeside Primary
- New Earswick Primary
- Osbaldwick Primary
- Poppleton Road Primary
- St Lawrences Primary
- Stockon on Forest Primary
- Tang Hall Primary
- Woodthorpe Primary
It comes as part of a scheme which began funding lunches for children in years three to six at Westfield Primary Community School in January 2024.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council has committed £100,000 each year to fund the meals at Westfield until at least the end of the current Labour administration's term next year.
Free breakfasts have also been offered to children in Burton Green Primary School and Fishergate Primary School through Hungry Minds, which is financed through council grants and private donations.
'Real improvements'
The council estimated in July that more than 50,000 meals had been served to date, with the latest expansion expected to provide 170,000 breakfasts.
The programme was launched to help disadvantaged children with the cost of living crisis and comes as the government is planning a national expansion of free breakfast clubs.
It is estimated that rolling out free school meals to all 57 of York's primary schools would cost around £3m a year.
Webb said the move to breakfast clubs was based on academic research which showed they were better value for money than lunches.
"It gives children a soft start to the school day, instead of going straight into lessons they can chat to their friends and talk about what's going on at home," he said.
"The data so far shows this is showing real improvements in the children who are part of these pilots."
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