Headteacher says cost of free breakfast club may be a 'challenge'
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.
"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."
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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Times
a day ago
- Times
It's not too early to start getting ready for secondary school. Here's how
The first three months of a baby's life are sometimes called the fourth trimester. Sure, the baby is out, but those months remain a liminal period. Year 7 is very similar. There is a real culture shock when an 11-year-old moves from a cosy primary school where they are the biggest child to a large community where they are the smallest. At this time of year, many schools host information sessions to help children to prepare for the change. • Everyone talks about 'transitioning' to year 7 like it's something that takes days or weeks. In my experience it takes all year. My eldest child is 14 and in year 9 but my son is 11 and nearly through year 7, so we are only just reaching something like settled. The move to big school doesn't just hit children hard. It's a challenging moment for parents too: seeing your confident, outgoing child looking small and terrified, swimming about in a too-big blazer, is a gut punch. Waving a nervous child off into a gigantic fortress you last saw on a tour 18 months ago, where you know they will get lost at least once, is horrible. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. If September brings your first experience of year 7 as a parent, here are some tips from me, as well as some actual experts, on navigating it all. You are still in charge — sorry 'The biggest change between primary and secondary school is the contact between the school and parents — there are no quick chats with the teacher at the school gate,' says James Whiting, deputy head of Altrincham Grammar School for Boys in Manchester. 'Parents need to inform themselves how to communicate with the school early on.' A mistake some parents make is to assume that now their child is in year 7 they need to go it alone. Children vary wildly in their natural capacity for executive function, but most will benefit from help and reminders for at least the first half of term. You're not smothering them if you do this. 'To-do lists on the wall and occasional spot-checks are good sense,' Whiting adds, 'but you don't want to do everything for them long-term, as they will develop an over-reliance on you. That's unsustainable if nothing else.' Yes, they do need to be independent Matilda Gosling is a social scientist and the author of Teenagers: The Evidence Base. She says that independence is a cornerstone of development in secondary school children. 'They have to develop resilience and I would encourage parents to resist safetyism — the feeling that there are an overwhelming number of risks we need to protect our children from,' she says. Travelling independently is key, says Gosling. 'As early as is practical they ought to be travelling to and from school on their own. A good idea is to practise their journey a few times when there's no time pressure, so on the weekend or in the summer holidays before they start.' John Jerrim is a professor of education and social statistics at University College London and agrees that getting to grips with independence is best done sooner rather than later. 'Teaching children some independence can start in year 5,' he says. 'So much is going on in year 7 that you want to start on organisational skills earlier and gradually build them up so year 7 isn't such a sheer drop.' It's helpful to create a dedicated space at home for crucial items like the travel pass, PE kit or schoolbooks, so your child knows where to find things without having to ask. So is getting into the habit of prepping the night before. When I first found my daughter packing her schoolbag for the next day I clenched a fist in victory and said, 'My work is done!' (It isn't.) Dreaded smartphones There can be few parents left who think giving a child a smartphone is risk-free. Anecdotally, ownership among current year 7s seems to be down, but it remains that about nine in ten 11-year-olds have their own device. Joe Ryrie from the campaign group Smartphone Free Childhood says their research shows that most parents don't want to give their 11-year-old a phone but worry that they will be left out if they don't. 'We hear mixed reports from parents whose children start secondary school without a smartphone,' he says. 'But the most common fear, that they will be left out socially, looms larger than it ought to. Online group chats aren't where friendships happen, the chat is often meaningless junk, more about mass communication and showing off than actual connection.' Parents who miss the location-tracking services of a smartphone tend to combine an old-fashioned phone like a Nokia with an AirTag. It's a bit clunky but broadly works. 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Friendships are crucial in the teenage years, when children naturally separate from their parents, but less so in year 7. 'In year 7, the family unit is still so important ,' says Dr Gavin Morgan, a clinical psychologist. 'Parents mustn't worry unnecessarily if their child is a slow starter, socially. You can't force friendships anyway so it's out of your hands.' The key thing is to keep calm and not interrogate a child in a panic as to why they haven't got any mates. 'You really don't want to make your child think that there is something wrong with them,' Morgan adds. Happiness Is there any truer phrase than 'You are only as happy as your least happy child'? Parenting a gloomy child is hard work: what you most want is for them to be happy, so that you can be happy too. But this isn't realistic. Secondary school is a big change: it can be boring, relentless or worse, and that's before puberty gets its claws in. 'A really striking message I found from my research is secondary school students need to experience healthy stress in order to build up resilience,' says Gosling. 'They need to meet a stressful experience and then come out of it the other side knowing that they can handle difficult things.' Gosling also advises not talking too much about mental health. Teens are on the constant lookout for their new, adult identity, and while talking about feelings is important, choosing 'depressed' or 'anxious' as a persona is unhelpful. 'Treat feelings lightly,' she says. 'Deliver the message that bad times always pass and if they feel down, it won't last for ever.' Be aware that your instinct to jolly them out of a 'mood', or offer endless solutions, is more for you than for them. It's fine to suggest going for a walk or some other distraction, but telling them to 'cheer up' will make them feel worse. 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The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
I refuse to buy my kid new school shoes so colour them in with a Sharpie to last instead – trolls call me a cheapskate
A MOTHER has revealed that she is refusing to buy her child new school shoes for the rest of term as she has come up with a handy hack to keep her current pair looking fresh. Samantha Potts, a savvy woman from the UK, explained that rather than constantly splashing the cash each term on new school shoes, she simply uses a Sharpie pen to colour in where the material has peeled off. 2 2 But Samantha's quick and easy trick has been met with a barrage of nasty abuse, with mean trolls accusing her of being a ' cheapskate '. Not only this, but other parents voiced their concern that Samantha's idea could set her young daughter, who is in primary school, up for "ridicule and bullying '. Posting online, Samantha gave her followers a close-up look at her daughter's black shoes, with half of the gloss peeled off. But with Samantha 'fed up of buying shoes ', she got a permanent marker to give the tired footwear a freshen up for the last term. Alongside her short clip, Samantha said: 'When it's the last term of the year at school and your kid has decided to peel off her shoes - you are now stood here colouring it in with a permanent marker because you don't want to buy any more shoes.' Samantha then asked: 'The question is, do I pull this bit off so it's the whole front of one shoe? Do I keep it on? Who knows?' Following this, she asked her followers: 'What will look better? I feel like at this stage it can't get any worse.' Showing off her daughter's coloured-in patent shoes, Samantha recognised: 'I know they look bad.' The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @ samanthapotts05 just 15 hours ago, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly amassed 221,800 views. Not only this, but it's also amassed 3,324 likes, 735 comments and 296 shares. But trolls were stunned by Samantha's purse-friendly idea and many eagerly raced to the comments to voice their opinions. One person said: ' Shoe Zone £10. Go buy some cheapskate.' Another added: 'Never would I send my kid to school in shoes like that, regardless of it being last term or not.' A third commented: ' Asda do school shoes for £6, that works out at £1 a week!' One mother fumed: 'You can't let her walk around like that for six weeks, please buy her some shoes.' EXTRA HELP WITH SCHOOL UNIFORM COSTS IF you can't get targeted help from your council, you might have some other options available to you. In some areas, you can talk directly to your school, which might be able to offer you clothing. Or, you might be able to get cheap garments from low-budget shops or charity stores. Some charities offer help to families in need too. But bear in mind charities often have a limited amount of money to give and usually have specific criteria which must be met in order to get a grant. Charity Turn2Us has a free grants search tool on its website which you can use to find out what help is available to you. Meanwhile, you can always try approaching your nearest Citizens' Advice branch. If you don't know where your nearest Citizens' Advice branch is, you can find out by visiting If you're not eligible for a school uniform grant you might be able to get help through the Household Support Fund. Whilst another slammed: 'Or just buy your kids new shoes! Would you go out like that? No.. so why make your child?' At the same time, another fuming user wrote: 'I'll buy new shoes. This is not on. I get it times are hard but there has to be a pot for this stuff. 'I wouldn't dream of sending a child to school in those. Knowing how mean children can be, you're opening your child up to ridicule and bullying.' She is only in Year 1, most days her dresses are covered in pen or paint or her lunch from the day and she couldn't care less so I don't think a little permanent marker on her shoes is gonna bother her Samantha Potts But in response to the haters, Samantha later responded: 'Wow, didn't expect this to blow up as much as it did. 'Just to clear a few things up - she's got 31 days left. Nine of those are PE so she will be in trainers. 'Why would I teach my kid that intentionally ruining something gets rewarded? It's wasteful and the structural integrity of the shoes are still there, if they were broken I'd replace them. 'She is only in Year 1, most days her dresses are covered in pen or paint or her lunch from the day and she couldn't care less so I don't think a little permanent marker on her shoes is gonna bother her.'
Evening Standard
6 days ago
- Evening Standard
Fin removed from submarine as disposal reaches ‘significant marker'
'Scotland has always been at the beating heart of the UK's defence and security and the SDR will restore Britain's readiness, deter our adversaries and help drive economic growth across the UK, as part of our Plan for Change.'
