MORE THAN £20,000 is being invested by Wychavon District Council to ensure children have a proper breakfast to start the day.
The funding will support 19 breakfast clubs in schools, along with wraparound care, as part of the authority’s commitment to improving outcomes for the most disadvantaged children and their families.
Several studies have shown children who eat breakfast have better levels of concentration, alertness, comprehension, memory and learning.
The funding follows a similar scheme which ran at the same time last year.
In the last 12 months, Wychavon has also backed 24 projects with Social Mobility Grants to support disadvantaged children, worked with the NHS to screen more than 900 children across 29 schools for speech and language issues and funded 67 laptops to pupils who did not qualify for the Government scheme, so they could continue to learn during lockdown.
More than 2,100 children are receiving free school meals in Wychavon – an increase of 20 per cent on the January 2020 figures.
It is feared that number could rise further as the full impact of the pandemic becomes clear.
Wychavon has committed £400,000 to improve social mobility up until 2024.
Coun Chris Day, the district council’s executive board member for housing, health and wellbeing, said: “Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are still committed to doing everything we can to make sure every child in our district has the opportunity to make the most of the talents they have and fulfil their potential.
“We’re grateful to our schools and other partners for the tremendous work they do and their support in helping us to change lives for the better.”
Contact Leonie Silk at [email protected] for more information on social mobility in Wychavon.
