Last week, the Department for Education has published further details regarding the national roll out of free breakfast clubs,
including:
· school eligibility
· increased mainstream funding rates
· how schools can apply
To ensure the government is supporting families with the cost of living and tackling poverty, they have written to schools with a 40% or higher FSM rate to give them the first chance to take part in the national roll out of the programme because of the community they serve.
As DfE make progress to deliver on the commitment to offer free breakfast clubs to all primary school-aged children, they recognise the important role that Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) childcare providers, including childminders, play in the sector, and have strengthened this commitment in the latest guidance to schools.
Whilst schools have full flexibility in choosing to deliver their free breakfast club ‘in house’ or by using PVI childcare providers. If a PVI childcare provider is already delivering a paid-for before school childcare offer that meets the needs of children and families, DfE encourage schools not to displace that provision. Instead, they should aim to incorporate the free breakfast club offer as part of the existing provision.
DfE have committed to continue to work with PVI childcare providers and childminders as they continue to develop the free breakfast clubs programme.
Early Adopter Update & Funding Rate Review
The early adopter scheme has been successful, and with your help, 5 million meals have been served so far. DfE have also used the intel from the early adopters to make improvements in the national roll out phase, including increasing the funding rate for delivery of provision at mainstream schools.
Breakfast Clubs at mainstream schools will, from April, receive £25 per day plus £1 per child per day.
Breakfast Clubs at special schools will continue to receive £18.95 a day plus £3.23 per pupil per day.
For more information, please see Everything you need to know about free school breakfast clubs – The Education Hub.
The Department for Education (DfE) would like to invite you to take part in an important survey about the free breakfast clubs programme.
Message from DfE team:
We are writing to invite you to complete a short survey to gather the opinions of Private, Voluntary or Independent (PVI) childcare providers about the free breakfast club programme. We would like to hear from PVI providers who offer childcare which covers school-age children (age 4 to 11).
The Government is committed to establishing free breakfast clubs in all primary schools. Breakfast clubs remove barriers to opportunities by ensuring primary school children are well prepared with a supportive start to the school day. This helps to drive improvements to behaviour, attendance, and attainment, and provides families with more affordable childcare choices.
Our survey
We work closely with the Out of School Alliance (OOSA) and School Age Childcare Association (SACA) and have asked them to distribute this survey to their members on our behalf. Please do not share this survey more widely.
We are keen to hear your views and ensure that PVI childcare provider voices are reflected in ongoing policy development for the programme. By taking part, you can help the DfE to better understand the impact of free breakfast clubs on PVIs and ensure the best possible support for children and families. When completing the survey, please respond in the context of this latest announcement, for example in light of this funding rate.
The survey will be open from 25th November to 12th December 2025. It will take approximately 10 – 15 minutes to compete. For more information about what completing the survey means, please click here for the information sheet.
If you have read the information sheet and are happy to complete the survey, please click on the link below:
Private, Voluntary or Independent (PVI) childcare provider survey – Fill in form
For each PVI setting, please only complete the survey once.
By completing the survey, you have consented to take part.
Thank you so much for your time, we really appreciate and value your input.