Breakfast clubs: guidance on food and funding

Understand the rights and expectations around providing school breakfast clubs. Get guidance on providing food, charging for provision and sources of funding.

Last reviewed on 15 November 2023
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 10049
Contents
  1. You can decide whether to run a breakfast club
  2. It’s up to you what’s on the menu
  3. Look into external sources of funding
  4. Be clear on when you can charge parents

You can decide whether to run a breakfast club

However, parents have the right to request breakfast and after-school clubs, and holiday childcare.

You aren’t obliged to grant requests for wraparound childcare, but you:

  • Must act reasonably when dealing with requests
  • Should be transparent about the process you choose to follow when granting or rejecting them

Take the wishes of parents into account when considering offering extended services. Try running a breakfast club on a trial basis to see how popular and how feasible it is to run the club long-term.

Childcare providers can also request to use school facilities to provide wraparound and holiday childcare when they're not in use by the school. 

Read up on how to respond to such requests in the DfE’s guidance wraparound and holiday childcare: responding to requests.

It’s up to you what’s on the menu

There's no obligation for you to serve breakfast at your club.