Free breakfast in primary schools (FBIPS): statutory guidance to local authorities and governing bodies

Breakfast has long been recognised as the most important meal of the day. Research suggests that children who have the opportunity to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast prior to the start of the school day are more likely to achieve their full educational potential.

Providing free breakfast in primary schools is intended to ensure not only that our youngest children are given a flying start in life, but also that skipping breakfast is stemmed at the earliest possible age.

Status of guidance

This guidance is issued under section 88 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 (the ‘2013 Act’). It provides that local authorities and governing bodies of maintained primary schools must have regard to it. This means local authorities and governing bodies must take account of the guidance and, if they decide to depart from it, have clear and justifiable reasons for doing so.

This guidance replaces Welsh Government’s Free breakfast in primary schools: Statutory guidance for local authorities and governing bodies (Guidance document no: 145/2014).

Providing free breakfast in primary schools has been an integral part of improving food and nutrition in schools maintained by local authorities in Wales. In September 2004, the Welsh Government introduced its Free Breakfast Initiative in primary schools. The aim of the initiative was to help improve the health and concentration of children to assist in raising standards of learning and attainment. It was not intended to replace breakfast already provided by parents and carers but to ensure children in maintained primary schools who had not received breakfast had a free, healthy breakfast at school each day. 

Section 88 of the 2013 Act places a duty on a local authority to provide free breakfast on each school day for learners at a primary school it maintains if: 

• the governing body of the school makes a written request to the local authority for breakfast to be provided at the school 
• 90 calendar days have passed since receiving the written request 

It enables free breakfast provision to be established or continued in primary schools. 

Breakfasts provided by local authorities must be:

• provided free of charge
• available on the school’s premises 
• available before the start of the school day (except in community special schools where breakfasts may also be made available at the start of each school day)

Local authorities have the flexibility to decide the form of the breakfast content subject to compliance with The Healthy Eating in Schools (Nutritional Standards and Requirements) (Maintained Primary Schools) (Wales) Regulations 2025 (‘Healthy Eating Regulations’) which regulate food and drink provided in maintained primary schools. 

Operating a breakfast service

There is no legal requirement on a governing body to operate a free breakfast service at their school. If a governing body decides to operate a paid-for breakfast service and provides the breakfast itself, it may charge learners for breakfast provided. However, the charge must not exceed the cost of providing the breakfast. 

Where a governing body decides to operate a free breakfast service and has asked the local authority to provide free breakfasts to the school, the local authority is obliged to provide the free breakfasts unless the local authority considers it would be unreasonable to do so (see What is meant by unreasonable provision of free breakfast in primary schools).

When the duty does not apply 

The local authority’s duty to provide free breakfast will not apply: 

• where no request is made by the governing body to the local authority to establish and provide free breakfast provision 
• where the school has asked the local authority in writing to stop providing existing free breakfast provision 
• where the local authority has decided that it would be unreasonable to start providing breakfasts and has notified the governing body in writing that it is not going to start providing breakfasts
• where the local authority has decided that it would be unreasonable to continue to provide breakfasts and has notified the governing body in writing that it is going to stop providing breakfasts

Learner entitlement to free breakfast 

A learner’s entitlement to receive a free breakfast is dependent on both:

• the local authority’s duty arising from the 2013 Act
• a request for free breakfast being made by or on behalf of the learner

Therefore, where a duty exists and a request has been made to the local authority by or on behalf of a learner, the learner will be entitled to receive free breakfasts. The legislation does not give local authorities or governing bodies the power to impose criteria to determine or restrict a learner’s entitlement to a free breakfast. 

Where a learner’s behaviour is unacceptable 

The fact that a learner’s behaviour is unacceptable does not mean that they lose their entitlement to receive a free breakfast at school, unless the learner has been excluded from school. In such circumstances the school should consider how best to provide the free breakfast to the learner if the learner still wishes to receive breakfast.

Written request for breakfasts to be provided 

There is no need for a governing body to make a written request for breakfast to be provided if the local authority was already providing breakfast to learners at the school on 1 April 2013. This is because the 2013 Act treats this situation as though a written request for breakfast had already been made to the authority, the 90-day period had elapsed and a request for breakfast had been made for each learner at the school for whom breakfast was already being provided.

The 2013 Act does not state what would constitute ‘unreasonable provision’. This allows for flexibility for different sets of circumstances. For example, what is unreasonable in one set of circumstances may not be unreasonable in another. While it is not possible to say what will or will not be unreasonable in any particular situation, local authorities should consider a range of factors. These include:

• level of demand for the provision of free breakfast in the maintained school
• availability or suitability of a venue to undertake the provision of free breakfast
• availability or suitability of facilities within the maintained school to provide the provision
• availability or suitability of staff to supervise the breakfast provision

This is not an exhaustive list.

While local authorities are responsible for providing and arranging the free breakfast provision, there is an expectation that they will liaise with the school governing body and head teacher to discuss the authority’s arrangements or any proposed changes to existing arrangements.

Head teachers are responsible for the internal organisation, day to day management and control of the school (see Regulation 6(1) of The School Government (Terms of Reference) (Wales) Regulations 2000). This applies to the breakfast session, but does not mean that the head teacher needs to be on the school premises during the breakfast session.

A governing body that is considering introducing the provision of free breakfast at its school should firstly consult its local authority (usually the catering department). The local authority will provide advice and guidance on the provision of free breakfast in primary schools.

There are, however, a range of matters that schools and local authorities should consider before deciding to request or provide free breakfast provision. 

Level of demand

Schools should contact parents and carers to establish the likely demand for breakfast provision. A sample letter is available (see Sample template letter for a school to issue to parents to establish interest in free breakfast sessions).

Catering

Consider whether the free breakfast session will be catered by the local authority or by the school, under delegated arrangements made by the authority.

Suitable facilities

The 2013 Act states that breakfasts provided by the local authority must be available on the school’s premises. Therefore, consider whether: 

• there is a suitable accessible room within the school where the free breakfast session can be held, and whether the room is available for the time required 
• the room is suitable to potentially cater for all learners who wish to take a free breakfast, and if not, what other rooms could be utilised. Consideration should be given to whether reasonable adjustments need to be made for learners with additional learning needs (for example whether the room is suitable for learners using a wheelchair)
• there are suitable facilities in the school to deliver the free breakfast session, for example cooking and serving equipment

Staffing

Consider whether the local authority will organise the staffing of the free breakfast session or delegate this to the school. 

Consider who will staff the free breakfast session and whether you will require additional staff or need to redeploy or add to the duties of existing school staff. Also consider the level of staffing supervision required during the breakfast session (the staff to learner ratio). 

Consider whether any reasonable adjustments need to be made for learners with additional learning needs, for example whether any such learners require enhanced or one-to-one supervision. 

All adults involved in the free breakfast session will require an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate and a check to establish whether they are included on the Disclosure and Barring Service’s barred list of individuals who are unsuitable to work with children (see Welsh Government’s Safeguarding guidance).

There are a number of employment issues to consider when employing staff, including:

• employment contracts
• insurance
• pay and tax
• national minimum wage
• statutory sick pay
• maternity rights
• equalities legislation
• health and safety

This is not an exhaustive list.

Training

Training may be required for free breakfast staff to ensure consistent messages are conveyed regarding health and educational practices. Local authorities and schools should consider appropriate training such as:

• first aid
• food hygiene
• food safety
• manual handling 

If training is necessary, this should take place prior to commencement of employment.

Timing of free breakfast session

The 2013 Act specifies that breakfast must be available before the start of the school day, with an exception for a community special school which, if necessary, can take place before or at the start of the school day.

Breakfast should normally be delivered as a short period before the start of the school day (for example 30 minutes) to achieve the primary purpose of providing sufficient time for those children who attend to choose their breakfast, eat it without rushing and start normal school activities.

Providing the period for operating free breakfast sessions is not extended so that it is, in effect, childcare, registration with Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) would not be required. There may be scope for a low-ratio, play-based, fee-charging childcare club to precede the free breakfast session. If so, registration with CIW may then be required if, taken with an after-school club with the same management, more than 2 hours per day of care is provided. In such other paid and unpaid sessions it must be made clear that it is not a free breakfast session and the use of similar terminology such as ‘breakfast club or session’ should be discouraged to avoid confusion with free breakfast provision.

Risk assessment

To comply with the requirements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (‘The Health and Safety Regulations’), a risk assessment for the operation of the free breakfast session must be:

• conducted by local authorities and governing bodies
• recorded in writing in order to identify the risks to health and safety

Any significant risks presented need to be properly evaluated and decisions should be taken to manage those risks to an acceptable level. The risk assessment process needs to be practical and should take account of the views of employees involved (and their safety representatives), who will have day-to-day knowledge of how the free breakfast provision operates. To assist local authorities’ and governing bodies’ compliance with this legal requirement a generic risk assessment template is available in the Annex. This template should be supplemented and customised as necessary. It is recommended that local authorities and governing bodies review their risk assessments annually.

Dietary requirements

It is important that parents and carers provide information on any allergies or special dietary requirements that their child may have. This information should be collected prior to a child’s attendance at the free breakfast session and must be brought to the attention of all staff and volunteers supervising the breakfast session.

General

Other factors to consider include:

• insurance – schools and local authorities should ensure adequate insurance cover is in place to cover the free breakfast session
• food waste – schools should consider ways to prevent food waste, keep food waste separate from other waste streams and divert food waste from landfill to anaerobic digestion plants (see the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s Taking action on waste information sheets) 
• recycling – schools should segregate recyclables at source and provide separate collections of key recyclate streams (including paper, card, metal, glass and plastic) where appropriate

Schools should contact their local authority recycling officer for advice on waste prevention and recycling.

Local authorities must achieve the targets stipulated by the Waste (Wales) Measure 2010.

As indicated earlier, local authorities have the flexibility to decide the form of the breakfast content subject to compliance with the Healthy Eating Regulations.

The Healthy Eating Regulations apply to local authorities and governing bodies that provide food and drink to learners of maintained primary schools (including maintained nursery schools) whether the food and drink is provided on the school premises or not. The aim of the Healthy Eating Regulations is to achieve a whole-school approach towards healthy eating, to encourage healthy attitudes to food and drink and to develop good eating habits at an early age. In practice, the Healthy Eating Regulations set out the types of food and drink that can, and cannot, be provided in maintained primary schools. 

For the purposes of the Healthy Eating Regulations, “maintained primary school” means a community, foundation or voluntary school, a community special school, learner referral unit or maintained nursery school in Wales that provides primary education. Where a maintained primary school also provides secondary education, the Regulations will apply only to food and drink provided to registered learners in year 6 and below.

Breakfast in maintained primary schools is dealt with in regulation 3 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Healthy Eating Regulations. Schedule 2 (as indicated below with suggestions) prescribes 4 permitted food and drink categories. Food and drink from these categories must be available during breakfast on each school day. Food and drink other than food and drink from these categories must not be provided (with the exception of plain water). The table below sets out those permitted food and drink categories and examples of standard items that may be provided.

Each child attending the free breakfast session must be given the option to choose one item from each of the food and drink categories. Schools should provide appropriate portion sizes reflective of learners’ ages. For example, learners in reception and Year 1 will require a smaller portion than those in Year 6.

Wastage should be monitored and ordering of food adjusted accordingly. Drinking water must be available to children, free of charge, during the breakfast session (see section 5 of the Healthy Eating in Schools (Wales) Measure 2009).

Governing bodies should discuss all concerns about the operation of the free breakfast provision with the local authority. If a governing body remains unable to resolve the issue despite the input of the local authority, and as a consequence decides that the provision of free breakfast should stop, the governing body must write to the local authority to ask it to stop providing breakfasts at the school. This notification will bring the local authority’s duty to provide free breakfast at the school to an end. A sample letter the governing body could use is available (see Sample template letter for a governing body to notify the local authority to stop free breakfast provision). 

Receipt of a withdrawal letter should not come as a surprise to a local authority. A governing body who encounters difficulties should notify its local authority as soon as possible to enable the authority to consider how best to resolve matters.

Prior to writing to the local authority, it is recommended that the governing body notify parents and carers of their intention to stop free breakfast sessions at the school and provide reasons for their decision. This may avert the need for parents and carers to assert their right, if there is sufficient quorum, to request a meeting with the governing body to discuss the issue (Section 94 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 gives parents the right to request a meeting with the governing body on issues which concern them).

A local authority does not have to provide, or continue to provide, free breakfast provision at a school if it considers that it would be unreasonable to do so. Although the 2013 Act does not specify what is unreasonable, factors are provided in this guidance to help local authorities determine what circumstances may constitute as unreasonable (see School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013).

Where a school asks the local authority to stop providing free school breakfasts, the local authority’s duty to provide free school breakfast provision will end. If the school subsequently decides at some point in the future that it wishes to resume the provision of free school breakfasts by the local authority, it will have to make a written request to the local authority as it will be treated as a new request.

A local authority must notify the governing body in writing of any decision not to provide, or not to continue to provide, free breakfast provision at the school. The reasons for the decision should be cited in the notification letter. A sample letter the local authority could use is available (see Sample template letters for a local authority to issue to a governing body on not providing or ceasing to provide free breakfasts).

Designed to Smile is a Welsh Government oral health improvement programme to improve the dental health of children in Wales. It is a preventative programme involving the delivery of school and nursery-based tooth-brushing to help establish good practice from an early age. Schools who would like to begin tooth-brushing after breakfast should refer to the Designed to Smile website for further information. 

The Healthy Eating in Schools (Wales) Measure 2009 (‘The Healthy Eating Measure’) requires local authorities and governing bodies to promote healthy eating and drinking by learners in maintained schools. Local authorities and schools could demonstrate compliance with this requirement by, for example, running ‘themed’ healthy breakfast sessions to encourage and support experimentation in food (for example different permitted fruits or foods from different countries) or issue a regular newsletter in which parents are made aware of the breakfast session and invited to attend a free healthy breakfast session with their children. For more information see Welsh Government’s Promotion of healthy eating and drinking in maintained schools guidance.

The Healthy Eating Measure requires governing bodies of maintained schools to include in their annual report (which is made available to parents and carers), information about the action taken to promote healthy eating and drinking by learners at the school. This information may feed into the school’s inspection undertaken by the Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales. 

Local authorities should continue to notify the Welsh Government of any newly established breakfast sessions and any sessions that close. Local authorities should also continue to encourage maintained primary schools in their area which operate free breakfast sessions, to complete the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) data return. This information will help the Welsh Government to shape and inform other strategies targeted at improving food and nutrition in schools.