Hear from the first schools in Walsall taking part in national breakfast club scheme

Goldsmith Primary Academy, King Charles Primary School, Pool Hayes Primary School and Rivers Primary Academy are confirmed schools in the borough who will offer a free breakfast and at least 30 minutes of free childcare every day for families and children.

The scheme aims to address child hunger and poverty, and support working families to juggle work and home life.

King Charles Primary School in Bentley, are set to launch their new breakfast club offer after the Easter holidays, with the help from their existing provider, Bentley Child Care services.

Kate Magner, headteacher, said: “We believe that offering a free breakfast club will help to support our pupils’ wellbeing, providing them a healthy breakfast, social time with their friends, and set them up for a day of learning. We hope that the offer will be beneficial for our parents too.”

Government research has suggested that breakfast clubs have been shown to boost children’s reading, writing, and maths by an average of 2 months.

Rivers and Goldsmith Primary Academies are part of the Windsor Academy Trust.

Becky Bailey, headteacher at Rivers Primary Academy, said a good start of the day, including a healthy breakfast, will make a huge difference to children’s learning and wellbeing.

Maximilian Wakeman, headteacher at Goldsmith Academy referred to a healthy breakfast as “fuel for learning” and shared the scheme is an opportunity to support even more families with something they’ve championed for many years.

Councillor Pardeep Kaur, Portfolio Holder for Education and Skills at Walsall Council, said: “We’re really pleased that a handful of schools in Walsall are at the front of a national roll out.

“This really feels like a win-win. Not only will a good breakfast help our children learn and thrive, it also helps takes the pressure of those parents who could benefit from dropping their children into school that little bit earlier before heading to work.”

Breakfast club schemes will be launched across 750 schools in England from April, as part of the government’s Plan for Change.