Labour’s school breakfast club roll out shows it is taking radical social steps - Yorkshire Post Letters

At present it is difficult to see beyond the international news and the Prime Minister’s central role in these affairs. But, meanwhile, below the radar of headline news, his government continues to take radical social steps.

In April, the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, will roll out a programme of free breakfast clubs to 750 schools with the aspiration that this will, in the future, apply to all primary schools.

This is the equivalent of 30 minutes free childcare helping to support parents getting into work by dropping their children off half an hour earlier.

Research studies have consistently shown that the behaviour and concentration of children arriving at school with inadequate breakfast or worse, none at all, is negatively affected. How can children concentrate when all they can think about is that slice of pizza at break.

Out of the 180,000 children benefitting from this initial programme, 67,000 attend school in deprived areas. All part of the government’s levelling up policy.

The schools chosen to deliver breakfast clubs also provide the perfect setting to host activities including arts and crafts, educational puzzles, reading and more. Children are educationally most receptive first thing in the morning.

It is to be hoped that increased defence spending will not come at the expense of such enormously important social programmes.