The Department for Education has today issued guidance on how it expects the 750 schools that signed up to the early adopter breakfast clubs programme to implement the scheme when it begins in the summer term of 2025.
This includes everything from the food that should be offered and staffing ratios to funding and 51 requirements.
Tes has been that any school that wants to get involved will need to know - and that others may want to be aware of for when the rollout goes nationwide in 2026.
1. The fundamentals
For any school getting involved, the DfE lists five key requirements they will need to follow:
- Having a breakfast club on the school site or in the vicinity.
- Enabling pupils to get a soft start with a seamless transfer into the school day.
- Being universal and free to parents and carers.
- Being at least 30 minutes in duration, immediately before the start of the compulsory school day.
- That the breakfast being provided adheres to the .
2. Wraparound care
Following on from this, and linked to the fourth point, is that the guidance makes it clear a breakfast club cannot replace or become part of an existing wraparound care offer.
“If a school or PVI [(private, voluntary and independent) provider] currently delivers before school childcare for a school from 8am until school starts at 9am, this should continue,” the guidance states.
This means that, with breakfast clubs expected to be offered for free for 30 minutes before the start of the school day, schools cannot require families to also access the wraparound care - which is usually a paid-for service - in order to access the breakfast club.
“Schools and PVIs should ensure that families can also choose to access the 30-minute free breakfast club without having to attend any longer paid-for provision.”
It’s easy to see how that could cause headaches - will some parents now not need wraparound care and therefore stop paying for it, and will others now demand a discount if the first 30 minutes is wraparound care but the second 30 minutes is funded as the breakfast club?
The DfE does acknowledge this but also makes it clear schools will have to sort it out themselves. It states: “Some schools may continue to provide additional offers beyond the breakfast club funded offer.
“This may be because children and families need alternative approaches to meet their needs. This could include free childcare beyond the 30 minutes or a food-only offer for those children who do not access the club element.
“These additional offers will not be funded through the DfE breakfast clubs programme, but schools can make their own decisions about how they are delivered and make appropriate charges to parents and carers.”
James Bowen, assistant general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said while the breakfast rollout is welcome, this issue was already creating questions.
He explains: “Some of our members have raised particular concerns about how this new universal breakfast provision will interact with existing breakfast clubs and wraparound care.
“It’s going to be vital that the pilot works through those sorts of issues ahead of a full national rollout.”
3. Inclusion
The guidance also makes it clear a breakfast club must be “inclusive and accessible for all children”, including those with special educational needs and disabilities and children considered vulnerable.
It sets out several areas in which this will need consideration, for example, ensuring staff at the club are trained to deliver high quality, accessible and inclusive provision, regularly speaking to families regarding need and how this changes, and any transport arrangements.
It also notes that any costs incurred through making any adjustments must be paid for by the school, not the parents or carers.
4. Staff ratios and food hygiene
The guidance says breakfast clubs can either be contracted to PVIs or run by usual school staff, such as teachers, teaching assistants, catering staff or volunteers.
As well as ensuring staff-student ratios are followed as per staff qualifications and the number of pupils present, it also states that while not technically necessary, schools may wish to consider ensuring some staff involved are “adequately trained in food hygiene”.
It notes that there are numerous “training, e-learning and other formal courses” staff could attend to gain this, and the guidance adds that local can “advise on which course is most suitable”.
5. Health and safety
Unsurprisingly, health and safety and 51 are outlined as key responsibilities of any breakfast club, with the DfE pointing to sections in the document for insights on best practice.
It also notes that any breakfast club providing for Reception age pupils will need to follow new early years foundation stage requirements from September 2025 by:
- Ensuring there is someone with a valid paediatric first aid certificate in the room when children are eating.
- Ensuring awareness of how to prepare food for children to prevent choking.
- Requirements around understanding and managing allergies.
The guidance also notes that any school delivering the breakfast club itself will not need to register this with Ofsted, but if any element is contracted to a PVI or childminder, they must be registered with Ofsted as part of the funding conditions.
6. What’s on the menu?
As noted earlier, any food served will need to adhere to the school food standards and, helpfully, the DfE gives a rundown of items it considers suitable to achieve this:
- Wheat bisks, shredded wholewheat, unsweetened puffed wheat, no added sugar muesli.
- Plain porridge, corn flakes, rice pops.
- Higher-fibre bread, such as wholemeal and higher-fibre white breads, fruit breads, hot cross buns and crumpets.
- Bread, yoghurts, fresh, dried or canned fruit.
- Cooked mushrooms, tomatoes or baked beans, if offering a hot breakfast.
Meanwhile, here are four foods to avoid as they do not meet the standards:
- Packaged cereal bars.
- Processed fruit bars.
- Pre-packaged croissants.
- Chocolate and chocolate-coated products and confectionery.
Meanwhile, it notes that milk should be semi-skimmed and water should also be on offer.
7. Funding on offer
For any early adopter school, funding will be provided for both food costs, including delivery charges and staffing costs.
This will be provided in the form of a one-off payment to cover set-up costs and a lump-sum payment to cover fixed-admin and start-up staffing costs between April and May 2025, followed by a second payment in arrears between October and December 2025.
This second payment amount will depend on the number of children attending the breakfast club.
The DfE also notes some schools will be eligible for an additional amount depending on additional need (Ever 6 FSM) and the variation in staffing costs based on geographical location.
Any school receiving this funding must adhere to some grant conditions, too, including attending focus groups and interviews to share views and experiences of being an early adopter, completing surveys, providing data for evaluation and potentially receiving visits from DfE officials.
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