Head's 'close eye' on money for free breakfast club plan

DEFENCE SECRETARY VISITS TO SEE FIRST DAY OF NEW 'EARLY ADOPTER' SCHEME

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

A HEADTEACHER is “keeping a close eye” on the Government's school breakfast club scheme to make sure he gets enough money to run one.

A handful of schools set to take part in the free programme as “early adopters” dropped out before the first rollout yesterday.

The early adopters will be used to test the scheme before a nationwide rollout to all primary schools. The programme means parents will benefit from a free breakfast for the children, plus 30 minutes of free childcare, given they can drop them off up to half an hour before school.

Duncan White has been executive headteacher at Wood's Foundation C of E Primary School for four years. The Woodborough school is one of 14 Nottinghamshire early adopters.

It already has a breakfast club running from 7.30am until school starts at 9am, but parents have to pay £6.67. The Government's scheme means the school is now offering a secondary free breakfast club from 8.30am.

Mr White said: “We've joined the early adopter scheme because we want to make a difference and help our families out. We believe we're a school that's got the community at the heart of its core purpose.

“This morning we've got 44 children enjoying the scheme. Families have dropped the children off at 8.30 and then obviously gone on to work, which has helped everybody out.

“Last term we were running at 30 children. We've got 44 this morning. So that’s an additional 14 today.