Families across the UK will be handed a boost worth up to £1,000 from September after a government law change.
The Department for Education has confirmed that 1,400 more schools will get free breakfast clubs worth £450 each on average, while a new law change on branded uniform is also set to cut costs for parents sending their children back to school next term.
Parents at 1,400 more schools will find out if they can save up to £450 through free breakfast clubs from September, when more than 2,700 will be up and running, the Department said. For a family using their club every day, it’s worth up to £450 and 95 hours a year, or nearly 2 working weeks back on the morning juggle.
From September schools must comply with the new legal limits on the number of branded uniform items they can require. It means parents can buy more of the everyday basics, like trousers and shirts, from any shop or supermarket rather than one pricey supplier.
After polling found a third of parents still worry about uniform costs, the government is also publishing strengthened statutory guidance today telling schools to take more steps to bring down the cost of individual items, especially for more expensive items like blazers and jumpers, in time for the 2027 school year.
Taken together, heading back to school is now set to be almost £1,000 cheaper for many families, the Department for Education said. A child could benefit from up to £450 a year through a free breakfast club and up to £500 a year through the expansion of free school meals to every household on Universal Credit – on top of cheaper uniform as the new branded-item limit bites.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “No parent should have to choose between a summer day out to the beach and kitting their child out for school.
“From September, families will feel the difference at the school gates: free breakfast clubs at 1,400 more schools, an end to expensive lists of branded uniform, and more free lunches for those who need them. That’s the British childhood this government believes in – and why we’ll always fight to give every child the very best start in life.”