Free school breakfast clubs to start next year with extra childcare for parents

13 comments

1. Good. Make it compulsory up to 18 years of age. My son’s school during SATs gave free breakfasts with the information that it got the kids more focused, more prepared and able to work harder, with case studies showing it improved results. If you remove the stigma of it being a benefit by giving it to everyone, it suddenly doesn’t cost much per pupil.

2. Great news. Making sure kids are fed regardless of parental income is paramount. Attendance, behaviour and performance are all positively impacted by this, and it benefits families outside of school as well.

3. Ha. It’ll come in just as my daughter leaves primary.

   But oh well. Fantastic news for all parents.

4. I wonder what part of us they’ll tax next to pay for this ….

5. Although this is great news for struggling parents, it does not address the cause; it’s just a sticking plaster. Really, the whole operation of having kids and family life is destroyed by the crazy work life balance and pressures parents find themselves in; that and inflexible working hours in many cases.

   How many hours a day are parents getting with each other and with their kids?

6. Although clearly necessary and a social good. There is never any reflection on the reality that society seems to be in a parlous state when kids are coming to school not in a fit state from their own family backgrounds for all sorts of reasons eg cost of living, inadequate living conditions or parenting quality and family integrity disintegration such that some kids have a red bull for breakfast…

   Again, many schools that provide this it is very necessary but there is never any real depth of policy on root causes in society while piling on ever more front line social welfare responsibilities onto teachers and school institutions… in turn these are creaking precariously.

7. Good news. Of course, good news gets very few upvotes on here compares to bad news.

8. Nice idea in theory, but a total ballache for the schools to implement, as are most new schemes thought up.

9. Good! The government is spending money on this country to help children. This will also help parents start work earlier! Absolutely beautiful.

10. You got anyone to run these breakfast clubs or are you going to ask TA’s to do it for free as they currently are?

11. Hopefully it comes into play. I am 13th in the queue to get y son into the schools wrap around care. Currently depending on a friend to do it 3 days a week so me and his dad can work!

12. I find the extra childcare thing disturbing. Why not just give parents the monetary amount and let them decide how to do with it. They could have the option to use a childminder/nursery full time, part time, or not use it at all and just not work. There’s a presumption that outsourcing parenting to others (and I say this as a person who uses a child minder for their own child) is an automatic good when, many times, it isn’t the best choice (especially for the youngest children)

13. Good. No doubt some people will moan that feeding starving children is bad as it takes away responsibility from parents, but they aren’t to be listened to.

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