Pic: Breakfast club, Inspiring Scotland
Every primary school child in Scotland is set to be offered access to a free breakfast club under a major expansion backed by £15 million of government funding.
First Minister John Swinney has announced the money will be shared between Scotland’s local authorities from today as they prepare for a nationwide rollout of free breakfast provision.
The Scottish Government’s aim is for a breakfast club offer to be available across all primary and special schools from the start of the 2027-28 academic year in August 2027.
Around half of Scotland’s primary schools currently have some form of breakfast provision in place.
The £15m being provided during 2026-27 is intended to expand that network ahead of the universal offer, meaning many more pupils are expected to gain access before next August.
Once the national programme is fully introduced, ministers plan to spend £44m every year supporting breakfast clubs.
Swinney said the scheme was intended to ensure children had something healthy to eat before lessons while also reducing costs for families and giving parents greater flexibility around work, education and childcare.
He said: “No child should start the school day hungry.” The First Minister said he had seen the benefits breakfast clubs could provide for pupils, parents and teachers.
As well as providing food, the clubs allow children to arrive at school earlier and spend time with other pupils before classes begin. Ministers believe that can improve children’s wellbeing, attendance and confidence while giving parents an earlier drop-off option before work or study.
The latest investment builds on the existing Bright Start Breakfasts programme. Scottish Government funding currently supports 490 breakfast clubs run by councils, private organisations and third-sector providers.
That programme has established 146 new clubs and created almost 9,000 breakfast club places, with up to 20,000 children supported during the 2025-26 academic year.
New breakfast clubs have also recently opened at East Linton and Letham Mains in East Lothian as part of the government’s drive to increase provision.
There are around 380,000 primary-aged pupils in Scotland and the government’s own modelling does not assume that all of them will use a breakfast club every day.
Information released by the Scottish Government under freedom of information legislation earlier this month revealed that its £44m annual budget was calculated on the assumption that around 30% of eligible children will take up the offer.
That would potentially mean provision for well over 100,000 children if take-up matches the government’s assumptions. The FOI response also revealed that detailed arrangements for how the universal service will operate are still being developed.
No fixed cost per child has yet been established and staffing structures will be determined locally.
The initial £44m modelling included assumptions around staffing and food, but did not include some costs such as fridges and toasters, play equipment, venues and transport.
Ministers said some cost assumptions had subsequently been updated as discussions with councils and other organisations continued.
Existing services use a mixture of council staff, private childcare providers and third-sector organisations, and the Scottish Government expects a mixed delivery model to continue.
Ministers have committed to ensuring that all primary-aged children can access breakfast provision, although the precise arrangements for individual schools are still being developed.
Where clubs operate on school premises they will have to comply with school food and drink regulations, while registered childcare providers will continue to fall under the inspection regime of the Care Inspectorate.
The programme will also extend to pupils attending special schools. The Scottish Government says the expansion forms part of its wider approach to tackling child poverty and reducing pressure on household budgets.