Schools to pilot government breakfast club scheme

A total of 15 schools in East and West Sussex will be part of a government breakfast club rollout

A total of 15 schools across East and West Sussex are to become early adopters of the government's free school breakfast clubs.

Schools in Seaford, Eastbourne and East Grinstead are among those chosen to pilot the new scheme, which is expected to run from April until June before being expanded.

The schools chosen for the trial are expected to offer a free breakfast to all pupils and at least 30 minutes of childcare before school.

Clubs in the county will receive a share of £7m in funding to kick start the plan, which the government says will save families up to £450 a year.

In Sussex, the schools chosen to pilot the scheme are:

• St Thomas A Becket Catholic Primary School, Eastbourne

• Seaford Primary School, Seaford

• Torfield Primary School, Hastings

• Baldwins Hill Primary School, East Grinstead

• Holmbush Primary Academy, Shoreham

• Clapham and Patching CofE Primary School, Worthing

• St Robert Southwell Catholic Primary School, Horsham

• Westbourne Primary School

• Parklands Community Primary School, Chichester

• The Meads Primary School, East Grinstead

• Birdham CofE Primary School, Chichester

• Compton and Up Marden CofE Primary School, Chichester

• Rogate CofE Primary School, Petersfield

• Nyewood CofE Junior School, Bognor Regis

• Bishop Tufnell CofE Primary School, Felpham

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the breakfast clubs would have a "transformative impact on the lives of children".

She added that the scheme aimed to break the link "between background and success" by initially targeting the most disadvantaged areas in the UK.

If the pilot is successful, plans for a national expansion could begin later this year.

The headteachers' union welcomed the expansion of breakfast clubs, which some schools already run, but expressed concerns that funding would fall short of the cost.

Additional reporting by PA Media