National School Breakfast Programme

(asked on 18th August 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the National School Breakfast Programme contract for provision up to July 2023 reaches children most at risk of hunger.


Answered by
Vicky Ford Portrait
Vicky Ford
This question was answered on 7th September 2021

The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs and we are investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme for the next two years. This funding will support around 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts.

The focus of the programme is to target the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the department’s Opportunity Areas. Schools’ eligibility for the programme is based on the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) – a nationally recognised indicator of need – to ensure provision is directed where it is most needed. Schools will be eligible for the programme if they have 50% or more pupils within bands A-F of the IDACI scale.

When schools join the programme, they will sign a partnership agreement that requires them to identify and target those children that are most in need of support. Our provider, Family Action, will monitor attendance data at each participating school and will support those schools with their targeting where needed. This will ensure that the programme benefits those most in need of support.

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