Every Greater Manchester school offering a free breakfast club from this week

Hundreds of primary schools have signed up across England

Free breakfast clubs will begin in a number of primary schools this week as the government initiative kicks off.

More than 750 have signed up as 'early adopters' of the scheme, which promises to save parents £450 a year.

The primary schools will offer free breakfast and childcare with parents able to drop their children off half an hour earlier.

The scheme will eventually be rolled out at all primary schools, but for now is running at 105 across the North West, 31 of which are in Greater Manchester.

The 31 'early adopter' schools in Greater Manchester are:

• Gilnow C.P. School, Bolton
• Devonshire Road C.P. School, Bolton
• Kearsley West Primary and Nursery School, Bolton
• Lever Edge Primary Academy, Bolton
• St Paul's C.E. School, Bolton
• Forwards Centre, Bolton
• St John with St Mark CE Primary, Bury
• Emmanuel Holcombe C E Primary School, Bury
• Radcliffe Hall CE Methodist Primary School, Bury
• Pike Fold Primary, Manchester
• St. Agnes C.E. Primary, Manchester
• Crowcroft Park Primary School, Manchester
• Oasis Academy Harpur Mount, Manchester
• Manchester Communication Primary Academy, Manchester
• Whitegate End Primary, Oldham
• St Agnes CE, Oldham
• Greenfield St Mary's CE, Oldham
• Richmond Academy, Oldham
• Greenhill Academy, Oldham
• Alt Academy, Oldham
• Westwood Academy, Oldham
• Northmoor Academy, Oldham
• Bamford Academy, Rochdale
• St Joseph The Worker R C, Salford
• New Park Academy, Salford
• Outwood Primary School, Stockport
• Greenfield Primary Academy, Tameside
• Hawthorns School, Tameside
• St Mary's & St John's Catholic Primary School, Wigan
• Bickershaw CE Primary School, Wigan
• St Stephen's CE Primary School Astley, Wigan

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Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "Free breakfast clubs are at the heart of our Plan for Change, making working parents’ lives easier and more affordable, while breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child.

"From Tyneside to Truro, England is one of the first countries in Europe to open universal free breakfast clubs, saving parents up to £450 per year and making sure every child starts school ready to learn.

"This government is delivering on our promises to working parents, rolling out free breakfast clubs, school-based nurseries, and giving every child across the country the best start in life."

The government says that universal free breakfast clubs for primary school aged children will remove barriers to opportunity by making sure every child starts the school day ready to learn – with research showing this can have a lasting impact on children’s behaviour, attendance and attainment.

By making sure no child starts school hungry, it is also hoped the scheme will help tackle child poverty.

But not everyone is confident the clubs will be a success and school leaders have already shared concerns about potential budget shortfalls.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, said: "While we welcome the intentions behind the programme, the initial feedback we are hearing from many school leaders participating in the pilot is that the funding just isn’t sufficient.

“At a time when school budgets are already stretched, most can ill-afford to subsidise this shortfall.

“It’s absolutely crucial that this is addressed before the scheme is rolled out nationally, and we have been encouraged to receive assurance from the Department for Education that funding will be looked at carefully when this trial is being assessed.”

The government has previously insisted that the funding will be sufficient to deliver the programme.

The trial was initially backed by funding of £7 million, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves later announced in the autumn budget that more than £30 million would be allocated for clubs in 2025-26.