Tens of thousands of the nation’s most vulnerable children may miss out on free school breakfasts unless Labour makes essential adjustments to one of its key policies. Schools, researchers, and the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP)—a coalition of over 120 organizations representing child healthcare professionals, parents, and children’s charities—are highlighting a range of issues that could potentially exclude more than 140,000 disabled children from accessing breakfast clubs. They are advocating for increased funding to enable necessary modifications in food offerings, transportation, and staffing, ensuring that the government initiative is effective for students with special needs in both mainstream and special education settings. The Government, however, has dismissed these concerns as “completely untrue,” asserting that the policy is intended to be “inclusive from the ground up.”
Funding Concerns: Staffing Costs Not Covered
Professor Rebecca O’Connell, an expert on food in special education, expressed skepticism about the adequacy of the funding, stating, “We don’t believe that the funding will sufficiently cover staffing costs. It might barely cover food expenses, but it certainly won’t address staffing needs.” Her concerns are supported by a senior Labour MP. Helen Hayes, chair of the Commons Education Committee, emphatically stated that unless reasonable adjustments are made, tens of thousands of children could indeed be left out. She emphasized the necessity for services to be designed in a way that accounts for the needs of disabled children, ensuring they can access the services they are entitled to.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s manifesto commitment to fund free breakfast clubs across England is set to commence in April with a pilot program involving 750 “early adopter” primary schools, which includes 50 special schools and alternative provision settings. Mike Finlay, headteacher at Springwater School—a 2-19 special school in Harrogate—welcomed the initiative, expressing his dedication to exploring and identifying what will work best for students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including strategies to enhance home-school transport agreements to maximize attendance.
Early Adopter Schools Offering Breakfast to All Primary Students
Finlay noted that all primary-age students at his school would have access to the breakfast club. Nevertheless, other educational institutions and sector experts caution that the government funding is “insufficient” to adequately provide breakfast clubs in special schools or for children with SEND in mainstream schools. This concern persists despite special schools receiving a higher funding allocation of £3.23 per pupil per day for the scheme, compared to the basic rate of 78p per free school meal pupil and 60p for others in mainstream schools.
Rosie Clark, headteacher at Woodlands School, a special school in Surrey, stated that her institution would not be able to implement breakfast clubs under the Labour initiative due to the funding being “significantly” inadequate. Furthermore, another special school, one of the early adopters, has expressed “many reservations” regarding the pilot, particularly concerning funding levels and the requirement for students to arrive earlier than their home-school transport agreements permit, according to an agency collaborating with the school that The i Paper has consulted. Despite these concerns, the school intends to proceed with the initiative due to the positive impact it could have on children and families. However, the agency highlighted practical challenges, including staffing and the type of food provided.
Breakfast Clubs May Not Be Viable for Our Students
Rosie Clark mentioned that her special school, which caters to 107 children with complex needs, has already received parental inquiries about breakfast club availability. However, she underscored that implementing the scheme is “not feasible with the current funding.” She elaborated, “The children we serve require two-to-one staffing, which is quite costly and cannot be funded through school budgets. We would love to offer this service, but staffing and funding limitations make it impossible at this time.”
“Another significant issue is that most of our children utilize school transport, which is only provided for home-to-school travel during the school day. This policy does not assist parents in terms of work commitments, as they would need to drop their children off earlier than the transport schedule allows,” she added. Furthermore, Clark stated that it wouldn’t be financially viable to arrange different transport routes for children attending breakfast clubs versus those arriving for the start of the school day.
Professor O’Connell, who specializes in food, families, and society at the University of Hertfordshire, corroborated that the funding for special schools or mainstream schools with SEND children “definitely won’t be adequate.” She noted, “Special schools or school children with special educational needs require additional staff and resources to support them, particularly those with complex needs during breakfast hours.”
Challenges Surrounding Transportation
She highlighted that “transportation challenges” were identified in a survey conducted among 34 schools in the East of England from November 2024 to January 2025. “Many children rely on local authority transport, which is provided free for students with SEND. The question remains whether they can arrive at school in time to benefit from breakfast before the school day officially begins—a significant issue that needs to be addressed,” she remarked.
Gillian Doherty, co-founder of the campaign group SEND Action, noted that numerous special schools have conveyed their belief that the policy would not be effective for them, citing high staffing costs and the complexities of home-school transport as major hurdles. “When implementing a policy like this, it’s crucial to consider how to make it accessible for all children. Although some efforts have been made in this regard, the findings seem to have been overlooked due to the need for additional resources,” she stated.
Call for Food Vouchers
Written evidence submitted to the Public Bill Committee by the Disabled Children’s Partnership and the Special Educational Consortium—representing over 130 organizations focused on SEN and disability—emphasized the need for measures to ensure breakfast clubs are accessible. This includes provisions for specialist support staff and food vouchers for children unable to access meals. The evidence cautioned that without specific requirements for schools to implement reasonable adjustments and obligations on local authorities to collaborate, there is a risk of “placing disabled children at a disadvantage before the school day even begins.”
A spokesperson from the Department for Education responded, stating, “These claims are completely unfounded. We have designed the free breakfast club program to be inclusive from the outset—with significantly higher funding rates for special schools and clear guidance for all schools on how to make their breakfast club offerings inclusive.” They added, “Approximately 50 special schools are involved in the early adopter program launching in April, which will provide valuable insights for the national rollout, including strategies for schools to implement inclusive breakfast clubs that help all pupils start their day ready to learn.”
