School leaders involved in the government’s pilot scheme of free breakfast clubs are worried about provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and warn funding is falling far short, a Tes survey reveals.

Some schools are having to dilute juice to make their funds go further, while others say they cannot afford fruit or hot food and are having to pay for extra tables and staff from elsewhere in their budgets.

And while government guidance says the breakfast clubs must be “inclusive and accessible for all children”, leaders warn that the funding rate does not cover the costs of supporting children with SEND.

Breakfast clubs: Quarter of schools consider dropping out

The pilot scheme started in April, with state primary schools in every region of England selected to join.

Out of the 750 schools involved in the early adopter breakfast club scheme, the Tes survey had received responses from 170 schools at the time of writing.

Of those, 24 per cent said they have considered dropping out.

SEND provision is a concern

When asked by Tes about any concerns they have relating to the scheme, provision for children with SEND was mentioned by 50 per cent of respondents.

Sally Beardsley, headteacher at early adopter William Lilley Infant and Nursery School in Nottinghamshire, said: “Our SEND pot is already stretched. If we had children with more complex needs in our breakfast club, we would struggle without greater funding for staffing.

“We also need to consider the environment that [children with SEND] are using to help them remain regulated and supported.”

Debby O’Connell, headteacher at Newport Primary School in East Yorkshire, which is also part of the pilot, said: “The money on offer is nowhere near providing a one-to-one teaching assistant for children with SEND.”

Staffing the breakfast clubs also ranked highly as a concern for respondents, with more than half listing it as a challenge.

However, Ms O’Connell said she “would never tell a child they cannot come to the breakfast club”, meaning that “we would have to take on the costs”.

DfE funding ‘insufficient’

Funding was top of the list of school leaders’ concerns in Tes’ survey, with three-quarters of respondents saying it was a worry.

Fewer than one in 10 said the government grant fully covers their breakfast club’s running costs.

Schools have been provided with an initial, one-off set-up grant of £500, and then a lump sum of £1,099 for 22 April to July, according to government funding documents.

They will receive 60p per pupil attending a breakfast club, and 78p for those on free school meals attending.

More than a quarter of respondents estimated that they faced a funding shortfall of £1,000 to £4,999 as a result of being part of the pilot.

One respondent, who asked to remain anonymous, told Tes said that their school would “run at about a £20,000 loss per year” as a result of the breakfast club, as things stand.

“With unfunded pay rises for teachers and support staff on the horizon, this is not sustainable,” they said.

Another respondent, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: “The funding will not cover the cost of staffing, food, energy and resources required to run the breakfast club as it should be.

“The children need to be engaged in activities during this time, and these resources cost. In its current state, I believe it will have a negative impact on school budget.”

A third respondent said the funding had not covered the costs of buying new equipment, such as tables.

Breakfast quality lower under pilot

Funding pressures mean that some schools have had to adjust the food that is available to pupils.

Ms O’Connell said her school has had to “lessen the calibre of breakfast on offer” while being part of the pilot, in comparison with the paid breakfast club that the school ran before.

“Instead of fruit juice, we now offer diluted juice, milk and water. We also used to offer scrambled eggs and beans on toast, but now it is just simple toast and cereal,” she said.

Another school leader said the costings “do not allow us to give much variety in what’s on offer except for the very basic - and no fruit due to cost and waste”.

“We need to be modelling healthy food and healthy eating and exposing children to a variety of foods and making sure it is a balanced diet,” they added.

The DfE guidance says that any food served as part of the breakfast club will need to adhere to the school food standards.

One anonymous respondent said their school is shopping at budget supermarkets to make the most of the funding on offer.

Have the clubs improved attendance?

Labour has championed its free breakfast clubs policy as a way of tackling low pupil attendance.

Despite good uptake for the clubs so far - most schools said they have had 30 or more children attending each day on average - leaders are still doubtful about the programme’s impact on cutting absence.

Four in 10 said the pilot had no impact on attendance, echoing earlier findings from Tes.

However, many respondents to Tes’ survey said they still agreed with the idea of free breakfast clubs, despite the limitations highlighted in the pilot scheme.

“It has been useful for punctuality and allowing a smooth transition to the school day,” Ms Beardsley said.

Both she and Ms O’Connell spoke positively about the pilot scheme, but said that already having existing breakfast provision at their schools helped to make running an expanded version easier.

“I am not sure it would be financially viable if we were starting from scratch,” Ms Beardsley said. “The school is just managing to break even in the current test-and-learn phase.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said that the early adopter scheme is “about testing and learning” and the department is in regular contact with all schools taking part.

“All schools are fully funded for food, delivery and staffing costs, with an average school with 50 per cent take-up receiving around £23,000 for a full year. There are significantly higher per-pupil funding rates for special schools, and clear guidance for all schools on making their breakfast club offer inclusive,” they added.

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