More children in Rochdale will have access to a free breakfast before school from September after 7 local schools successfully applied to the national breakfast club programme.
The initiative provides primary-aged pupils with a healthy and nutritious meal before school to help them get off to the best possible start before a full day of learning.
It also helps parents and carers with extra childcare at the start of the school day, with children arriving at school up to 30 minutes earlier at no extra cost.
Schools joining the programme include Shawclough Community Primary School, Sandbrook Community Primary School, St John's Roman Catholic Primary School and Heybrook Primary School.
Deeplish Primary Academy, Holy Family Roman Catholic Primary School and Moorhouse Academy are also involved.
Their inclusion brings the total number of local schools participating in the programme up to 10, with Bamford Academy, Broadfield Community Primary School and Springside already enlisted.
The programme is estimated to save participating families up to £450 a year and give them back up to 95 additional hours to support them during their busy morning routines.
Councillor Rachel Massey, cabinet member for children’s services and education at Rochdale Borough Council, said:
“Breakfast before school is incredibly important as it sets pupils up for a fun and productive day of learning, social interaction and achievement which is great for their wellbeing and development.
“By our schools embracing this new programme, children are not only coming to the classroom on a full stomach, they are getting the chance to spend extra time with their friends and enjoy activities such as reading and crafts before school starts.
“This is a fantastic programme to be involved in and I look forward to more of our schools taking part in the future as it expands.”
Across the borough, there is already a high proportion of breakfast clubs running in addition to this scheme including schools who provide some form of breakfast support to children.
Eating breakfast before school is proven to have several benefits to a child’s education, including improved literacy and numeracy skills.
It can also support children to be more focused and improve their general behaviour in the classroom.