Free school breakfast clubs will give parents ‘breathing space’, says Starmer

Parents will no longer be “hamstrung by rigid school hours”, the Prime Minister has said as 750 schools open new free breakfast clubs on Tuesday.

The new clubs, providing 30 minutes of morning childcare, are part of a trial that will run until July ahead of an expected national rollout promised in last year’s Labour manifesto.

Sir Keir Starmer said: “The rollout of free breakfast clubs is a truly game-changing moment for families in this country.

“They mean parents will no longer be hamstrung by rigid school hours and have the breathing space they need to beat the morning rush, attend work meetings and doctors’ appointments, or run errands. And crucially, it means better life chances for children.”

“By making these clubs free and universal, we’re doing something that previous governments have never done.

“We’re going further and faster to deliver the change working families deserve. That’s the change this Government was elected to deliver.”

To mark the launch of the pilot scheme, Sir Keir and Cabinet ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper are expected to visit some of the breakfast clubs across the country on Tuesday.

The Government expects the extra time to save parents £450 a year, if their child goes every day.

But teaching unions have warned that the money provided by the Government will not be enough to cover the cost of expanding breakfast clubs.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said “initial feedback” from schools was that the funding “just isn’t sufficient”.

The Government has previously insisted the funding will be enough to deliver the programme.

Ministers have also claimed that the provision of 30 hours of free childcare per week from September, up from 15 hours a week, will save parents up to another £7,500 a year.

But early years groups have warned that financial pressures will mean some childcare providers will be forced to limit the number of Government-funded places on offer or close entirely.