Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of (a) breakfast clubs and (b) after-school clubs for parents that need them; and what steps she is taking to help increase the level of provision of those clubs.

The Department is committed to continuing support for school breakfasts. In November 2022, the National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) was extended for an additional year, until the end of the 2024 summer term. The Department is spending up to £30 million on this programme overall. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment and wellbeing. Schools are eligible for the programme if they have 40% or more pupils from disadvantaged households, as measured by the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index.

Family Action estimates that 270,000 children are currently receiving a breakfast from the NSBP on an average school day. The NSBP is also undertaking data collection with all participating schools on take-up rates and effects. Relevant data will be published in due course.

Wraparound childcare for school age children is a vital service that supports working families. 66% of primary schools currently provide after school care and 65% of these schools provide both before and after school childcare. This data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-and-college-panel-omnibus-surveys-for-2022-to-2023.

The Government is committed to increasing the availability of wraparound childcare for parents. This is why the Government announced it would spend £289 million on a national pathfinder scheme in England as part of the Spring Budget. This will provide Local Authorities with funding across two academic years to set up wraparound provision in primary schools and will improve the availability of wraparound childcare where it is not available. This start-up funding aims to support Local Authorities and schools to test options and deliver wraparound childcare that is self financing and sustainable in the longer term.