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Cost may be a 'challenge' for school breakfast club

Maisie Lillywhite & Georgia Stone
BBC News, Gloucestershire
BBC Five children - four boys and one girl - wearing blue school uniform sit in a line around a table at a breakfast club. On the table, there are two bowls of cereal and a crumpet on a plate. There is also white paper with drawings on, pencils, pens, and a cup on the table.BBC
Kingswood Primary School is one of 15 schools in Gloucestershire to take part in the pilot scheme

The launch of a school's breakfast club was "a really lovely experience" but its headteacher has raised concerns over the future costs of the scheme.

Kingswood Primary School, near Wotton-under-Edge, is one of 15 schools in Gloucestershire and 750 in England to take part in the government pilot that aims to give thousands of parents half an hour of free morning childcare.

The trial is running until July ahead of an expected national rollout but headteacher Wendy Collins said the 60p allocated per child by the government to cover the cost of food and staff would be a "challenge".

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said she was "confident" the funding would be adequate.

A middle aged woman with shoulder length blonde hair wears a brown vest top with white polka dots. She is wearing a blue staff lanyard and is smiling with her teeth on show.
Wendy Collins said the children who took part in the pilot were "really pleased"

"With the start-up funding, we can afford to run this as we have done by paying a proper wage to the people working with the children," Ms Collins said.

"But if it's 60p per child, in the future, that will cover the food cost only... I don't know if the scheme's intended to be run by volunteers."

Viva, a pupil who attends the breakfast club, said there had been "lots of people" there on Monday.

"It's really fun to see everybody and all my friends," the nine-year-old said.

"I think it's really nice that lots of people are coming because I enjoy it a lot so I think the little ones might enjoy it."

A nine-year-old girl in a blue gingham summer dress with a white collar and a blue cardigan stands in a classroom, which is blurred behind her. Her dark brown hair is in a wavy bob and she is smiling with her teeth on show.
Viva, a pupil at Kingswood Primary School, said she enjoys the breakfast club

Ms Collins said it would be "wonderful" for all of the school's 102 pupils to attend the club, but it could lead to "panic stations".

"We would have to look at calling in some volunteers, maybe some governors or asking staff to come in a little bit earlier," she said.

"The ones [pupils] who signed up are really, really pleased.

"As children go out and talk about their experiences today hopefully we'll have a few more."

Some MPs and headteachers' unions have also raised concerns the funding is too low, while ministers say it could save parents £450 per year in childcare costs.

Under the scheme, schools would be reimbursed by the government based on attendance at the clubs - a school with 50% participation in the pilot scheme could get £23,000 a year, the government said.

Education Secretary Phillipson said: "Free breakfast clubs are at the heart of our Plan for Change, making working parents' lives easier and more affordable, while breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child."

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