Free breakfast clubs in schools
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The Government have introduced free breakfast clubs - 30-minute sessions before school where children get a free breakfast so they to start every day ready to learn.
Currently more than 180,000 pupils in the most disadvantaged communities are able to access free breakfast clubs. As children return from the 2026 Easter holidays, over 500 new clubs will launch, meaning free breakfast clubs will be operating in 1,250 schools and available to more than 300,000 children. These schools are based across nine regions in England and are being funded to provide this service – available to all children in each setting. This is part of a national roll out which will see free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England in due course
Free breakfast clubs will help ensure pupils start every day ready to learn, and in turn will improve behaviour, attendance and attainment.
Schools who already take part in the programme:
- Colville Primary School
- Marlborough Primary School
- Bevington Primary School
- Asburnham Community School
Schools who will be joining the programme from April 2026:
- Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School
- Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School
- Ark Brunel Primary Academy
If you would like more information about the free breakfast club offer, please speak to your child's school in the first instance.
For cost of living support available in the borough, please visit the Cost of Living Support Hub.
DfE free breakfast clubs programme overview
This video is designed for schools interested in learning more about the Department for Education's Free Breakfast Clubs programme. Take 2 minutes to learn what the programme is, the benefits for pupils, parents and schools and see what support is available for you.
What will my child get for breakfast
Schools will provide healthy, nutritious and varied breakfasts that follow the School Food Standards.
What are the benefits of free breakfast clubs?
Free breakfast clubs mean no child starts school hungry and will help set children up for the day by providing a nutritious breakfast as well as time with friends to enjoy activities such as reading and crafts.
Breakfast clubs, such as those already run by the Magic Breakfast programme have been shown to boost children’s reading, writing, and maths by an average of two months.
For parents, free breakfast clubs mean help with childcare at the start of the school day – at no extra costs. It means those parents can drop their children off half an hour earlier – helping parents get into work, giving them up to 95 additional hours back to juggle busy mornings, and saving working families up to £450 a year.
We know many families are feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and that is why we have prioritised schools with the highest proportion of pupils on free school meals to ensure that the real-life impact of free breakfast clubs goes first to where it is most needed.
What if my school isn't part of the scheme yet?
We’ve always been committed to rolling out free breakfast clubs to every primary school in England because we know how powerful the benefits are!
Our early adopter test and learn phase has been a huge success, with over 7 million breakfasts served so far, and we want to build on that momentum – that is why we are onboarding an additional 2000 schools between April 2026 and March 2027.
This next phase builds on this great work already happening and we continue to receive excellent feedback from schools, parents and pupils on the positive impact that the free breakfast clubs are already having.
If you have specific questions about how the new free breakfast club programme will work in your child's school, we recommend speaking directly with the school once they confirm their participation.