Could your school soon be offering a free breakfast club?

The government has confirmed the 750 schools which will take part in the first phase of its breakfast club programme

Children in 750 schools across England will soon be able to attend free breakfast clubs, the government has announced.

It's part of a programme which the government says is to make sure "no child starts school hungry".

The scheme, which could begin as soon as April, will give students from these 750 selected primary schools the opportunity to have a free breakfast during a 30 minute session before their school day begins.

It also means parents will be able to drop their children off at school half an hour earlier.

The government says this is the first phase, with breakfast clubs like this eventually being rolled out across all primary schools in England.

How will the breakfast clubs work?

The scheme means parents with children in the schools taking part will be able to drop them off earlier

Breakfast clubs aren't a new idea, with many schools already offering their students a free meal before the school day begins.

Some of these breakfast clubs are already supported by funding from the government's Department for Education.

However, the government says it wants to offer free breakfast to pupils across all primary schools in England, helping to "support parents" and "cut the cost of living".

The schools chosen to take part in the first phase of the programme are based across nine different regions in England.

What will the breakfast clubs look like?

Each school will be given money to provide free breakfasts for students.

They will be encouraged to provide students with healthy and nutritious options which include things like fresh fruit and yoghurt.

The clubs can also be used for other activities like reading, arts and crafts and puzzles.

"Breakfast clubs can have a transformative impact on the lives of children, feeding hungry tummies and fuelling hungry minds, so every child begins the day ready to learn," said the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson.

Exactly when the scheme will be rolled out across the country is still unknown, but the government has said it'll be providing more details on this in the future.

What about the rest of the UK?

Schools are being encouraged to provide healthy meals

The Scottish government announced a £3 million scheme to provide primary school children with free breakfasts in December last year.

Scotland's education secretary Jenny Gilruth says the programme, which is called Bright Start Breakfasts, will "build upon" existing support. The government says nearly half of Scotland's schools already provide access to food before the start of the school day.

Wales has a scheme called Free Breakfast in Primary Schools. The programme is run by individual local authorities in the country, which means schools and parents or carers need to ask their local authority if they think children in their area need access to free breakfasts.

Meanwhile, breakfast clubs in Northern Ireland are overseen by the Education Authority.