Free breakfast clubs launch in Blackpool schools as government targets unhealthy meals
Thousands of children across the North West - including pupils in Blackpool - are set to benefit from free breakfast clubs and healthier school meals under new government plans.
A total of 116 new free breakfast clubs have opened across the region this week, offering places for up to 28,000 additional children. Three of those schools are in Blackpool: Thames Primary Academy, Revoe Learning Academy and Mereside Primary Academy.
The initiative aims to give children in more deprived areas a “healthy start to the day”, while also supporting working families with childcare costs. Ministers say parents could save up to £450 a year and gain back around 95 hours of time.
The rollout comes alongside a major overhaul of school food standards – the first in more than a decade – as the government looks to tackle rising levels of childhood obesity.
Under the proposals, high-sugar and deep-fried foods will be removed from school menus. Daily offerings such as pizza and sausage rolls will no longer be allowed, while fruit will replace sugary desserts for most of the week.
The changes follow concerns about children’s health, with figures showing one in three pupils leave primary school overweight or obese. Tooth decay linked to high-sugar diets also remains the leading cause of hospital admissions among children aged five to nine.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the reforms were “long overdue”.
She said: “Every child deserves to have delicious, nutritious food at school that gives them the energy to concentrate, learn and thrive.
“From our free breakfast clubs to extending free school meals to over half a million more children, this means good-quality food from the moment children arrive at school to the end of the day.”
Health minister Sharon Hodgson added that children are currently consuming “twice the recommended amount of free sugar” and said improving school meals would play a key role in tackling obesity.
The government has launched a nine-week consultation on the new standards, with parents and pupils invited to give their views.
Polling suggests 74 per cent of parents have concerns about their child’s nutrition, including too much sugar, fatty foods and a lack of fruit and vegetables.
To ensure the rules are followed, ministers have pledged to introduce a new enforcement system, with full details expected in September and implementation planned for 2027.
Schools will also be encouraged to publish their menus online and appoint a governor responsible for food standards.
The reforms build on plans to expand free school meals from September 2026 to all children in households receiving Universal Credit – a move expected to benefit more than half a million pupils nationwide.