Free breakfast clubs programme
The government is committed to offering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary aged pupils in England (the new breakfast club offer). Breakfast clubs are designed to break down barriers to opportunity, as well as tackle the impact of child poverty, ensuring children get the best start in life. Free breakfast clubs give children a supportive start to the school day, ensuring they are ready to learn and make the most of the opportunities schools offer. Schools that offer breakfast clubs report improvements in behaviour, attendance and academic attainment. These are benefits that support children to achieve and thrive, while supporting teachers and school staff in their work.
- Opening date:
- Closing date: (Midnight)
Contents
Summary
The government remains committed to deliver on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children.
Breakfast clubs will ensure every child, no matter their circumstances, can achieve their full potential by providing a supportive start to the day. Breakfast clubs offer much more than just food; they can serve as a welcoming space for children, providing valuable opportunities for them to play, learn, and socialise at the beginning of the school day.
So far, we have delivered 2.6 million breakfasts and offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country.
Following the success of the early adopters scheme, as the first phase of national rollout, we are investing a further £80m into the programme to fund an additional ~2000 schools between April 2026 and March 2027. This will benefit around 500,000 more children.
The free breakfast club programme gives you flexibility in how you deliver your new free, universal, 30-minute breakfast club with food.
Eligibility
Schools with a 40% or more pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM), or the most disadvantaged school in an area, whichever is lower, are eligible to apply to join the scheme in April 2026.
When selecting successful schools, we will consider:
levels of disadvantage
current participation in the National School Breakfast Programme
geographical spread
Objectives
The minimum requirements on schools are detailed below and should include:
· having a breakfast club on the school site or in the vicinity
· enabling pupils to get a soft start with a seamless transfer into the school day
· being universal and free to parents and carers
· being at least 30 minutes in duration, immediately before the start of the compulsory school day
· that the breakfast being provided adheres to the school food standards for England
Free breakfast club schools will have flexibility in how they deliver their breakfast club to meet the programme’s requirements and will receive a package of support to help them do so.
Schools will be funded for food, delivery and staffing costs directly by the government. Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-breakfast-club-grant-2025-to-2026-academic-year
Dates
The EOI opens on Thursday 20 November 2025 and closes on Friday 5 December 2025 for this round. Schools will find out if their application has been successful by mid-January 2026 and will be expected to launch their free breakfast club in April 2026.