Commenting on a set of proposals to tackle health outcomes for children, including breakfast clubs, increased mental health support, and toothbrushing sessions for early years, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“We welcome Labour’s proposals for cutting waiting lists for mental health services, and a free breakfast club in every primary school. Hunger should never get in the way of learning.
“While fully funded breakfast club provision will be a positive development for many schools, school lunches are seen by many school staff as a more effective mechanism for tackling child hunger. The NEU would hope Labour can go further by committing to free school meals for all children. As the recent extension of Free School Meals for all primary school children in London has demonstrated, a universal lunch scheme is both practically achievable in England and hugely beneficial to children, families and their communities.
“The NEU recognises that there is an urgent need to improve the dental health of the nation's children and we therefore support measures to help make this happen.
“What is essential to the effective rollout of breakfast clubs and toothbrushing supervision, however, is sufficient funding and staffing levels. It is not at all clear who will administer these new drives. Schools should be able to deliver these programmes free from the worry of budget constraints and increases to staff workload.
“We also need to see Labour pledge to remove the punitive 2-child limit so that families can access the support they need.”