Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the factors affecting pupils’ readiness to learn and recurring barriers to early-morning preparedness in primary schools.

The Schools white paper makes clear our commitment to ensure every child can achieve and thrive by getting the most from the school day.

This is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England, so that all children, regardless of background, can have the best start in life and begin the school day ready to learn. Since April 2025, we have funded 750 schools to offer a free breakfast club as early adopters, delivering 8.5 million meals so far. Following the success of the early adopters, we have rolled out clubs in an additional 500 schools opening their doors this week. Backed by an investment of £80 million, we will fund breakfast clubs in around 2,000 schools between April 2026 and March 2027, benefitting around half a million more children.