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The first schools to offer free breakfast clubs for pupils have been named as the government pushes ahead with its pilot scheme.

Some 750 state schools with primary-aged children from every region of England have been selected to join the pilot, which is expected to run from April before a national rollout.

The schools chosen for the trial are expected to offer a free breakfast to all pupils and at least 30 minutes of childcare before school.

The £7 million “early adopters” scheme - which will test the delivery of the programme ahead of a wider national rollout in England - was announced at the Labour Party conference in September.

1 in 3 pilot-school pupils are in deprived areas

The chosen schools include those that do not currently run a breakfast club and those that provide breakfast provision.

The government also said that the scheme has an important role to play in its “commitment to remove the stain of child poverty”, with 67,000 of the 180,000 children involved attending schools in deprived areas.

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Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the clubs would help to break the link “between background and success” for families “all over the country”.

“Alongside our plans to roll out school-based nurseries and get thousands more children school-ready, this government is delivering the reforms needed to give every child, wherever they grow up, the best start in life,” she said.

The NAHT school leaders’ union welcomed the expansion of breakfast clubs, which some schools already run, but expressed concerns that funding would fall short of the cost.

“It will be crucial that these concerns are addressed before the programme is rolled out across the country to ensure that it does not place further pressure on already-strained school budgets, and that children and families can fully reap the benefits,” said Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT.

It comes after Tes revealed that nearly two-thirds of primary school headteachers believe the government’s free breakfast clubs scheme will have no impact on attendance.

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