Thousands more children from low-income families to benefit from free breakfast clubs
THOUSANDS more children from low-income families are to benefit from free breakfast clubs, the government has announced.
The government has invested £24million into getting kids free breakfasts for the next two academic years.
The new National School Breakfast Programme will deliver breakfast food items to around 2,500 schools from July 2021 to July 2023.
Thousands of children, especially those in disadvantaged areas, will benefit from the help.
Schools have to apply to the Department for Education to set up a breakfast club - they can
But they'll have to start footing the bill for 25% of the cost of supplying and delivering the breakfasts in nine months time, between April 2022 and July 2023.
Schools will receive further guidance on how to roll out the programme and whether they'll be eligible for the scheme today.
But parents can ask schools to set up a breakfast club if they haven't signed up for the scheme.
Once a breakfast club has been set up, all kids need to do is turn up for it as there's no need for them - or families - to apply.
Do I need to apply for my kid to go to a free breakfast club?
PARENTS don't need to apply to send their child to a free school breakfast club.
It is up to schools to apply for the scheme - they can
Once your child's school has successfully set up a breakfast club, all you have to do is make sure your kid turns up in time for it to get a free meal.
If your school hasn't signed up to the free school breakfast programme, the Department for Education said that parents can ask them to set up one.
It's best to check in with your kid's school to see what their plans are for applying for the scheme.
Children and families minister Vicky Ford said: "Family Action will lead this delivery in schools, backed by our £24 million investment, meaning hundreds of thousands of children can benefit from breakfast clubs over the next two years – I encourage all eligible schools to sign up."
It comes as thousands of hard-up Brits have been relying on free school meals to feed their kids - especially throughout previous Covid lockdowns.
According to campaign group Food Foundation, around 200,000 UK kids skipped meals during the first coronavirus lockdown because they didn't have enough food.
The government therefore rolled out food packages to kids eligible for free meals while schools remained shut to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
But after a national uproar - spearheaded by football star Marcus Rashford - over the size and quality of food in the packages, Boris Johnson allowed Brits to sign up to voucher schemes instead in January this year.
It's not the only help families struggling for cash can get for their kids.
You can get up to £150 to cover the cost of school uniforms, depending on where you live.
The grant is typically available for people on benefits such as Universal Credit, Jobseeker's allowance and child tax credits.
Payments can vary from £20 up to £150 per child based on where they live, according to FOI data collected previously by The Sun from 51 councils in England.
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