Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her department has considered providing an exemption to the new regulations for the Free Breakfast Clubs Programme for primary schools if provision is already in place.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. Following the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, all such schools will be under a duty to offer a free breakfast club. New groups of schools will be onboarded in stages throughout 2027 and 2028 to ensure appropriate support is in place for implementation.

We know that many schools already offer either food-only breakfast clubs or parent-paid clubs that include childcare. Our programme is a universal offer that is free and accessible to all primary-age pupils in England. We want all families to be able to access the benefits of a healthy breakfast, reduced childcare costs and a positive start to the school day. For this reason, we expect all schools to provide the offer.

Schools will have flexibility in how they deliver breakfast clubs, in line with existing non-statutory guidance. We are keen for schools to build on their existing provision. Through the early adopter programme, we have seen numerous examples of schools successfully integrating the new programme with, or incorporating it into, their existing arrangements.

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