Labour is delivering on our promise to roll out free breakfast clubs to all primary school children, starting with 750 early adopter schools beginning in April this year.
Details of early adopter schools were announced earlier his week and I am absolutely delighted that a school in Southampton Test will be taking part in the first wave.
A massive congratulations to Bevois Town Primary on their successful application!
The government has chosen Bevois Town as one of the first to offer free, daily breakfast clubs as part of our landmark scheme that will ensure children are school-ready and parents are better off.
As the school is in an area of particular need, I was pleased to support their bid, writing to the Department for Education on their behalf after they told me about their application.
Labour’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which I voted for last month, legislated to create these clubs and also to put a cap on the number of branded uniform items schools can require. The Bill will save some families over £500 per child, per year.
The breakfast club at Bevois Town is a testament to the school and the Labour government’s dedication to improving children’s attendance, attainment, wellbeing, behaviour and readiness for school.
Evidence shows that breakfast clubs can boost children’s reading, writing, and maths attainment by an average of two months’ additional progress.
At the same time, the club will save local families on the cost of sending children to school while providing a valuable source of childcare for working parents at the beginning of the day.
Taken together, Labour’s breakfast clubs will boost parents’ work choices and children’s life chances. They will also help us bear down on the levels of child poverty in Southampton, left far too high by the Conservatives.
I am so proud to have a pioneer of this really important policy here in Test and wish Bevois Town all the very best with their new club!