Member

One of the measures in the Bill that has gained the most attention is the introduction of free breakfast clubs at every primary school. I sympathise with amendment 2, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes), which would require schools to make particular provision for children on the SEND register, and I hope that this will be monitored throughout the pilot process and going forward. We have recently had the announcement of the first 750 schools to pilot the scheme, and I have previously welcomed the news that PACE, Garswood primary and Ashurst primary in St Helens North are among the first cohort. I visited Ashurst last week and spoke to the headteacher, Lisa Houghton, and the chair of governors, Chris Forrest. Their ambition for their school, and their excitement about this opportunity, was clear. It is a fantastic school, and I have no doubt that they and many others are ready to make a success of the free breakfast club programme. We just have to give them the funding and the tools to make it work.