Latest news with #breakfastclubs
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Eradicating child poverty must become Labour's central mission
It is much more than a flip rhetorical cliche to say that if a nation thinks that fighting child poverty is costly, then it should try the alternative. It really should not be a matter of great controversy. The broadly warm welcome given to the government's expansion of the free school meals programme has been marred only by some noisy mumblings about how the policy will be funded. Of course, any item of public spending must be accounted for – but in the case of this and similar measures to alleviate child poverty, both sides of the ledger should be taken into account. Experience in Scotland, Wales and London – where free and nutritious meals are already available more widely – suggests that pupils perform better on a full stomach; something that surely accords with common sense. Academic studies go further, linking higher educational achievements with higher productivity and thus better living standards for those lifted out of poverty – with an obvious dividend for the nation as a whole. Official support for children, including the new breakfast clubs, a wider availability of free school meals, childcare, access to libraries, affordable housing and of course their education itself, should be treated less as 'current' spending and more like an investment. These are the kind of arguments The Independent has long put forward, as part of an award-winning campaign, and are compatible with fiscal sustainability. In essence, though it is not meant to be mercenary, money spent on rearing a healthier, more literate, more numerate and more intellectually able generation is, in the long run, as valid an investment as, say, building a new tramway or bolstering the national grid. 'Human capital' is, ironically, more precious than ever in a world where artificial intelligence will take over so many of the tasks currently undertaken by human beings. For people to enjoy socially useful and economically viable lives in the future, they will need to be smarter than the machines that will surround them. Soon enough, chancellor Rachel Reeves will be able to go further and faster, as the current ministerial catchphrase goes, in the Labour government's newfound mission to reduce child poverty. After years when the party seemed to be undeclared disciples of the austerity school of economics, Labour's conscience, albeit prompted by some shocking electoral setbacks, has been awoken. Eradicating child poverty by 2020 was the noble objective set by Tony Blair early in the last Labour government, enshrined in law during the last days of Gordon Brown's administration, revived in Jeremy Corbyn's time, but frankly neglected, beyond some necessary lip service, in more recent years. Now, it has rightly become a priority, and one that has lodged itself high on the long list of social challenges facing the chancellor. It now seems inevitable that the two-cap limit on child benefit, imposed by a Tory chancellor almost a decade ago, will be lifted, sooner or later, and perhaps 300,000 children in larger families lifted out of poverty immediately. That it will be partly under populist pressure from Nigel Farage does not make it a bad idea. Extending child benefit, like school meals, is not a total cure for child poverty. Where the Tories had a point as they downgraded the poverty targets in the past (which, to be clear, was a mistake) was when they stressed the importance of a healthy economy creating well-paid jobs. Child poverty is linked to general levels of poverty, obviously, and the creation of wealth still counts as the essential basis for a fairer society – and human capital is part of that. Even with these latest measures, continuing care will need to be taken to make sure the free school meals are nutritious and promote good physical and mental health. Other policy areas also need to be attended to. No level of child benefit or childcare will entirely compensate for being brought up in a cramped, overcrowded, mouldy, cold home. Other policies will thus have to contribute to giving every British child the best opportunities in life. In that context, the government's child poverty task force might consider how the SureStart centres could be restored. Arguably the most serious misjudgement of the coalition government of 2010 to 2014 was to scrap them. In any case, without much in the way of conscious effort, indeed almost by accident, Sir Keir Starmer's government has found itself endowed with a new, invigorating mission to pursue. For all the problems, disappointments, gaffes and missteps in their first year out of the wilderness, the Labour Party has rediscovered its raison d'etre.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Free breakfast clubs open at Cornwall schools
The launch of government-funded free breakfast clubs has more than doubled attendance before lessons at a group of five primary schools in Cornwall, school leaders at schools taking part in the pilot scheme can access 30 minutes of free in the Cornwall Education Learning Trust said they had 183 pupils attending breakfast clubs within the first few weeks, compared to 90 before the government unions have raised concerns, saying funding is too low, but Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said it could help "break down barriers to opportunity". Dropping off her daughter on her way to work as a veterinary nurse, Kayleigh McCormack said she would be saving £43 a month. "It's a huge saving and, to know that she's happy to go in and she has something to eat while she is there, it is really good," she said.A teaching assistant at another school, Claire Wells, said she used the free breakfast club for her son and daughter and it "really eases the financial burden"."Before this, the breakfast club was costing me about £200 a month for both the children, but now that money has been freed up," she of two staff running the breakfast club, teaching assistant Gemma Weir, said before it was free they "averaged about five or six pupils a day"."This week we are averaging around 18, so that's amazing," she said. Claire Bunting is the Cradle to Career Lead at the Cornwall Education Learning Trust, which has the five schools taking part in the pilot, including Luxulyan. The other schools are: Mount Charles, Carclaze, Lostwithiel and said: "We have been prudent with how we are running this because, obviously, we don't want to use our main school funding to supplement it. "This is why the trial is so important because then we can get it right when the national roll-out comes and we know we can fund it appropriately."Luxulyan School head teacher Nathan Cooper said the pilot scheme had improved punctuality and the early "soft start" helped some children that "maybe struggled to come into school on some days".He said: "All schools are under pressure with budgets, which is why being an early adopter is good to pave the way and see whether this is a viable financial option in the long-term." About 750 schools in England are taking part in the pilot, which will run until July, after which the programme is expected to be rolled out has the most schools in the trial programme, with 25 signed up, while, in Cornwall, there are currently 15 schools offering the daily half-hour session.A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: "Allocated funding covers early adopter food, delivery and staffing costs and is based on previous breakfast club schemes, and discussions with schools who run breakfast clubs, and standard school staffing rates."The funding rates vary depending on up-take and pupil characteristics, so an average school with 50% take-up on the early adopter scheme would receive around £23,000 for a full year."All schools will receive £500 to cover initial set-up costs and a lump sum of at least £1,000 a term, regardless of how many pupils will be in attendance."
