UK households handed up to £450 in 9 regions in England | Personal Finance | Finance

Households across the UK with school-age children are being handed savings of up to £450 per year thanks to a free government scheme. The Department for Education has announced the launch of free breakfast clubs at 750 schools across England from this week. The breakfast clubs are 30 minute sessions before the start of school which provide children with a free, nutritious breakfast. The government says around 180,000 pupils in the most disadvantaged communities will be able to access the clubs, which launched as children returned to school from the Easter holidays this week.

The schools taking part in the scheme are based across nine regions in England and will be funded to provide this service, which will be available to all children. The nine regions of England are London, North East, North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, South East, East of England, and South West.

It marks the first phase of a national roll out which will see free breakfast clubs made available in every primary school in England.

The Department for Education said: “Around 180,000 pupils in the most disadvantaged communities will be able to access free breakfast clubs. As children return from the Easter holidays, the first 750 schools will take part in the programme.

These schools are based across nine regions in England and will be funded to provide this service – available to all children in each setting. This is the first phase of a national roll out which will see free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England in due course

“Free breakfast clubs mean no child starts school hungry and will help set children up for the day by providing a nutritious breakfast as well as time with friends to enjoy activities such as reading and crafts.

“Breakfast clubs, such as those already run by the Magic Breakfast programme have been shown to boost children’s reading, writing, and maths by an average of two months.

“For parents, free breakfast clubs mean help with childcare at the start of the school day – at no extra costs. It means those parents can drop their children off half an hour earlier – helping parents get into work, giving them up to 95 additional hours back to juggle busy mornings, and saving working families up to £450 a year.”

The launch of the scheme comes alongside several other government measures to help parents with the rising cost of living, including a cap on school uniform fees and expanding free childcare for under-fives to 30 hours per week.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson added: “Free breakfast clubs are at the heart of our Plan for Change, making working parents’ lives easier and more affordable, while breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child.

“From Tyneside to Truro, England is one of the first countries in Europe to open universal free breakfast clubs, saving parents up to £450 per year and making sure every child starts school ready to learn.

“This government is delivering on our promises to working parents, rolling out free breakfast clubs, school-based nurseries, and giving every child across the country the best start in life.”