More children across the Wakefield District will start the school day fed, settled and ready to learn this September as the Government expands its Best Start free breakfast club programme.

Twelve schools across the district are among 1,400 schools nationally joining the scheme this autumn, helping an estimated 680,000 children benefit from a free breakfast and additional childcare before lessons begin.

The expansion comes alongside further measures to reduce the cost of sending children to school, including new legal limits on expensive branded uniform requirements and the extension of free school meals to every child in a household receiving Universal Credit.

Together, the changes are expected to save many working families almost £1,000 a year while helping ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive at school.

New breakfast clubs in the Wakefield District.

placeholder image — New breakfast clubs in the Wakefield District.

Best Start breakfast clubs part of Cohort 2 (September 2026)

Sandal Magna Community Academy

Featherstone Purston Infant School

Moorthorpe Primary School

St Helen’s CE Primary School

Outwood Primary Academy Newstead Green

Streethouse Junior, Infant and Nursery School

Sharlston Community School

Wakefield Snapethorpe Primary School

The Mount Junior, Infant & Nursery School

Wakefield Lawefield Primary School

St Michael’s CofE Academy

St Botolphs CE Academy

Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant School (early adopter – already open)

Darrington Church of England Primary School (early adopter- already open)

Wakefield Labour MPs Yvette Cooper, Simon Lightwood and Jade Botterill have welcomed the measures, saying they will improve children’s life chances while easing pressure on household finances.

Simon Lightwood MP said: “Every child deserves the best possible start to the school day, regardless of their family’s circumstances.

"When children arrive at school having had a healthy breakfast, they’re better able to learn, concentrate and make the most of every opportunity.

“These breakfast clubs aren’t just about saving parents money, important though that is.

"They’re about giving children the routine, nutrition and support they need to succeed, while giving working parents a little more breathing space at the start of the day.”

Yvette Cooper, MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, said: “I’m really pleased that St Botolph’s in Knottingley is the latest of our local schools to get one of Labour’s free breakfast clubs.

"Free breakfast clubs are a win-win, for parents, teachers and children. Extra childcare in the mornings for parents who have to leave earlier for work, children well fed and ready to learn, and better behaviour and attainment at school.

Jade Botterill, MP for Ossett and Denby Dale, added: “Free breakfast clubs ensure children can start the day ready to learn, and parents have more choices around their work, so this is amazing news for families in Sandal.

“From free childcare and breakfast clubs, to lowering the cost of school uniform, I am proud to be on the side of local families, boosting parents’ work choices and children’s life chances”