Commenting as the DfE publishes details of the impact of the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which ran during the school summer holidays, and an impact report showing the benefits of breakfast clubs on school attendance, attainment, and wellbeing, James Bowen, director of policy for school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“It’s really good to see schools reporting a positive impact from the holiday activities and food programme and breakfast clubs that they have run. Once again, schools have stepped up to go the extra mile for children during the pandemic and this report shows how important their work can be. It’s good news that the government are extending the funding for these programmes.

“Of course, it is very concerning that child poverty and holiday hunger is something schools are having to try and fix. School leaders are seeing more and more hardworking families struggling, and more children living in poverty. An NAHT poll in 2019 showed that 81% of school leaders had seen an increase in the number of children coming to school hungry in the last five years, and 75% had seen an increase in the number of parents coming to school to ask for financial support or support with essentials. Coronavirus has only exacerbated this and has shown just how vulnerable many families really are. We’d like to see more done to tackle the root causes of poverty to eliminate the problem entirely.”