Every primary school in England would offer fully funded breakfast clubs, paid for by reinstating the top level of income tax, under Labour plans.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson is set to say tomorrow at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool that the extension of breakfast clubs would be the “first step on the road to a modern childcare system”.
She will also say that a “fresh vision” is needed for education, and discuss ending tax breaks for private schools to widen access to arts, music and drama, and building a modern careers advice and work experience system.
Labour said the breakfast clubs would have to be in place in all primaries. Schools would be able to offer the clubs themselves or contract this to a provider.
Some primary school leaders have welcomed the plans, although questions have been raised about space shortages and whether the funding would be enough.
Chris Dyson, primary headteacher at Parklands School in Leeds, said he was excited by the plan because it was “essential” all pupils had access to breakfast, for both “learning and low-level behaviour”.
Steve Mills, headteacher of Whitehill Junior School in Hertfordshire, said he could see the benefits of offering the provision for all, but had concerns over a shortage of space to host the clubs.
He also questioned whether the clubs would be used as “pre-tuition opportunities”.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, welcomed a commitment to “properly fund” breakfast club provision but said it would need to be “properly funded and resourced”.
The Labour Party has said that it will allocate £365 million per year for the policy.
This would be funded by the reversal of chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision to cut the 45 per cent income tax for earnings above £150,000.
Labour has already said it will use over half of the around £2 billion a year saved by reinstating the tax to train more district nurses, health visitors and midwives.
Christine Farquharson, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), told Tes that the tax rate reversal would “comfortably” pay for the policy if it cost £365 million per year.
Asked whether the £365 million would be enough to fund the policy, Ms Farquharson said this depended on the “framing”.
She said: “Take-up in previous studies has been far from universal, which helps keep overall costs down. Labour’s costs work out to about £70 per eligible pupil per year, which looks reasonable compared to what we’ve estimated in the past.”
However, a “caveat” to that is whether it is treated as a childcare offer or more as a way of boosting childhood nutrition.
“If you’re bringing in bowls of cereal to class or bagels, and children eat these just before school starts, that is a relatively low-cost way to deliver school breakfasts,” she said.
But, she added: “If Labour is viewing this as a half an hour or 45-minute childcare offer before the school day starts, that’s on the expensive end of how you deliver this sort of programme. Secondly, there is also the question, if you do it this way - is take-up going to be quite so low?”
Ms Phillipson will tell the party conference in Liverpool tomorrow: “We need a fresh vision of that education. One that looks to the future, not the past.
“Labour will build a modern childcare system. One that supports families from the end of parental leave through to the end of primary school.
“As the first step on that road, we will introduce breakfast clubs for every primary school child in England, driving up standards in maths, reading and writing, and giving mams and dads choices.”
Currently, only schools in disadvantaged areas are eligible for the National School Breakfast Club programme, which offers a 75 per cent subsidy from the government.
Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said Labour’s plans would “make a real difference to parents with school-aged children trying to balance their careers and their childcare needs”.
The policy was also supported by the Child Poverty Action Group. However, chief executive Alison Garnham said: “We hope there is more to come - universal before- and after-school activities for kids of all ages would make a crucial difference.”
