The Labour government has been urged not to “repeat the mistakes” made by its predecessors on tutoring with its rollout of breakfast clubs.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has urged primary schools to become early adopters of its breakfast club rollout.
Schools can apply to become one of 750 early adopters offering all their pupils access to a free breakfast and at least 30 minutes of free before-school childcare. The first clubs are set to launch in April 2025.
However, a report from the New Britain Project (NBP) has warned that the plans could fail if the “shortcomings” and “missteps” of the Conservative government’s £1.1 billion National Tutoring Programme (NTP) are repeated.
Meanwhile, school leaders, while welcoming Labour’s plans for breakfast clubs, have stressed the importance of guidance, support and funding being in place.
Key lessons from NTP
The report identifies four key lessons from the NTP that it says Labour must heed:
- Quality standards must not slip. It says the NTP “aimed high but fell short”, prioritising hours delivered over actual impact.
- Outcomes must be measured. The report says: “After almost six million hours of tutoring, we are none the wiser whether it actually made a difference.” For breakfast clubs, the government must set clear objectives and track outcomes.
- Funding must be ringfenced. The NBP warns that “much of the tutoring funding was redirected to plug other budget gaps in schools. New money was used to fill old holes.”
- Procurement needs an overhaul. The report says: “The NTP’s convoluted procurement process was its Achilles heel and undermined its effectiveness. Labour must avoid similar pitfalls when scaling breakfast club provision.”
NBP director Anna McShane said: “Labour’s ambitious plans must avoid the pitfalls of the previous government’s missteps. The tutoring programme failed because it didn’t focus on the details, ultimately losing sight of its mission.”
The report calls for the government to ensure the programme’s impacts on education and health outcomes are measured. It also says ministers should establish new and enforceable nutrition standards to prevent a postcode lottery in breakfast quality.
And it says the government should put guidelines in place to prevent funding being diverted to cover existing gaps.
Commenting on the new NBP report, Tiffnie Harris, primary specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was vital that “a well-intentioned policy doesn’t end up becoming yet another burden for schools, surrounded by onerous bureaucracy, and without the funding, staffing and clarity needed”.
Jonny Uttley, chief executive, of the Education Alliance academy trust, which runs 12 schools in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, said: “The idea of breakfast clubs is something we hugely welcome, but no one should be under any illusions about how thinly stretched schools are already. If this is going to work, it needs to be done right.
“This can’t be something the government expects schools to sort out with just a few months’ notice. Schools need more detail as soon as possible to make this great policy work properly.”
Dr Kulvarn Atwal, executive headteacher of Highlands Primary School and Uphall Primary School, said that while his schools successfully delivered the NTP, “it required us to devote a significant staffing and administrative capacity that we simply hadn’t anticipated”.
He added: “With breakfast clubs, we really do want this to work - it’s exactly the kind of support families need. But we need clear guidance on staffing, food standards and funding mechanisms well in advance.”
Jo Coton, CEO of NET Academies Trust in Essex, which runs six primary schools with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils, said breakfast clubs for all was “potentially transformative”.
“However, to be successful they must provide good-quality, nutritious food, and delivery must be facilitated by government and not just left to schools. Funding would have to fully cover food and staffing costs.”
A DfE spokesperson said: “The purpose of the early adopters is to develop learnings to inform the national roll out. No final decisions have been made on timings for expansion, and we will set out more details as soon as possible.”
Announcing the opportunity to bid to become one of the early adopters Ms Phillipson said: “This is a landmark opportunity for schools to be in the vanguard of change, as we build back the foundations of an education system that breaks the link between children’s background, and the opportunities they have in life.
“From helping with flexible working for families, to improving behaviour and attendance, the supportive start to the day that breakfast clubs provide will help drive high and rising standards for every child.”
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