Keir Starmer reveals how breakfast clubs helped his family as 750 schools begin rollout

Keir Starmer told of the difference that breakfast clubs made to his family as the first 750 schools began trialling the scheme.

The Prime Minister, who has two teenage children, said getting a proper breakfast makes “a massive difference” to kids’ ability to learn and make friends - and offers extra childcare to parents in the morning. “I'm not just saying that as Prime Minister very proudly introducing this policy. We sent our kids to a breakfast club because we knew the importance of kids interacting,” he told the on a visit to St Michael’s Junior Church School in Bath.

“It was to allow my wife and I to get to work, because Vic was working in the hospital and needed to get to work and secondly, we wanted them to mix with others, because I know how important it is for kids to mix in the mornings, in that free time."

School breakfast clubs were previously funded by the Government in only the most deprived areas through the National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP), while separate clubs were run by charities or funded by schools themselves. Only 12% of schools were taking part in the NSBP scheme in 2024, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

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One of Labour's central manifesto pledges was to offer free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England, accessible to all kids regardless of background. The scheme, which began on Tuesday, will allow thousands of families to get half an hour of free childcare as schools open their doors early to offer free nutritious breakfasts. It is expected to be rolled out across the country over this Parliament.

Mr Starmer said: "They're so important - and only a Government would do this - and they are important on so many levels. Firstly, making sure that kids who need it get a meal at the beginning of the day makes a massive difference to their ability to learn, and for some of them they wouldn't get that meal if it wasn't for a breakfast club.

"Secondly, it releases parents and carers to go to work, and that is hugely important, particularly for women, in terms of getting back into the labour market. And if it's not back to work, there's other kids that need to be dropped off and that sort of thing so it makes a big difference to parents. I think it's really good for kids to be socializing with other kids for an extra hour."

Parents will save up to £450 a year if their child attends every day, according to Government estimates. The PM argued the move would help to reduce child poverty as he comes under intense pressure to get to grips with the numbers of kids living in hardship.

Grim figures recently showed a record 4.5 million kids fell below the poverty line in the year to April 2024. And charities including Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), Save the Children UK and Barnardo’s warned this week that it could rise to 4.8million in 2029 if the Government fails to scrap the two child limit.

The Tory-era policy, which restricts access to and Child Tax Credit for a third or subsequent child, has been blamed for driving families into poverty. Asked if he was considering scrapping it, he said: "We've got the Child Poverty Task Force, and I'm absolutely committed to bringing child poverty down.

"The history of Labour governments is bringing child poverty down, and I was really proud that the last Labour government did. I'm committed to doing it ourselves. We will put out our strategy, there'll be a number of strands to it, so I won't preempt that but some of this breakfast club stuff is part of that. It's not in and of itself enough of course but it's an important part of that because it allows parents to ."

Mr Starmer said he was “determined” to go into the next election with child poverty levels falling - despite official analysis warning his Government’s cuts to disability benefits risked pushing 50,000 extra kids into hardship.

He said: "If you do need protection, you should get protection and support. If you want to and can get into work, you should be supported into work."

He said the Government's planned "right to try" guarantee was crucial as it would stop people receiving health-related benefits from having their entitlements automatically reassessed if they get a job. He added: "If you can work, you should work, because that is the quickest way out of poverty.

Mr Starmer urged schools to buy British food where they can, using local produce to feed kids and deliver a boost to farmers. “We've got fantastic food farmed in the UK, and we should be using that in our breakfast clubs wherever we can,” he said.

"I'm very encouraging of that. It's good British food and it's sourced locally, so it's good for farming and farmers, and it's good for schools and children. So wherever they can, I would encourage them to use British food or buy British food."

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