Nyewood is one of the pilot schools taking part in the government’s new breakfast club initiative — a scheme aimed at making sure 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗹, especially those from vulnerable backgrounds. It was great to see this support reaching children who need it most.

I had the pleasure of visiting the school this morning during the breakfast club, and chatting to pupils and staff — the children were full of energy, positivity and clearly benefiting from a proper start to their day. 𝗔 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝘂𝘅𝘂𝗿𝘆 — 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Huge credit to the dedicated staff at Nyewood who are making this happen every morning with warmth, care and real commitment. Their efforts are clearly making a difference. It was also great to see the pupils helping with washing up — learning valuable life skills along the way!

If this initiative is to succeed, it must come with 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. Schools are already under financial pressure, and new government programmes can’t be allowed to place further strain on overstretched budgets.

At the same time, we need to have an honest conversation about 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Parents have a duty to give their children a good start to the day — and that starts at home. Government support should be there to help families that need it, not to replace the role of parenting. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀. We need practical, common-sense support — helping children thrive while making sure taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and where it’s needed most.