Breakfast Clubs and Free School Meals: Coastal Areas and Rural Areas
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58330 on Poverty: Children, how the (a) rollout of free breakfast clubs and (b) extension of free school meals will be (i) implemented and (ii) monitored in (A) rural and (B) coastal constituencies.
Answered by Stephen Morgan
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. In order to test and learn about how best to support schools in implementing new free universal breakfast clubs, we have selected over 750 early adopter schools who began delivering from the start of the 2025 summer term, ahead of national roll out to all schools with primary-aged children.
Schools have been selected to ensure a representative sample, to ensure the early adopter scheme learns from a variety of schools in a range of locations, including schools in rural and costal constituencies.
By taking this approach, we will be able to gain insights into any challenges and barriers schools may face, in order to develop solutions ahead of breakfast clubs national roll out.
We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.
Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
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