More than a million children will get free breakfast at primary school to tackle the scourge of hunger under a Labour government.
With child poverty on the increase and food bank use soaring, many children are going to school hungry.
Labour also plans to cap the price of school uniforms and restore grants to help disadvantaged families with extra costs.
The move to “poverty proof” England’s schools would improve educational outcomes, child health, and save money for families.
Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner told the Mirror: “Rising child poverty under the Tories is an absolute scandal, and it is a disgrace that their plans will push it to a 60 year high if they win this election.
- Has child poverty affected you? Contact webnews@mirror.co.uk
“Labour will tackle child poverty while driving up standards in schools by providing extra support to the children who need it most.
“We will invest in both our schools and the children in them, to transform the life chances of a generation being failed by the Tories.”
In addition to 1.15 million primary school children, Labour plans to pilot free, healthy breakfasts for 165,000 secondary pupils.
And around half a million secondary children whose families are in receipt of Universal Credit would get a free hot lunch.
Labour has previously committed to the introduction of universal free school lunches in primary schools.
Alex Cunningham of Magic Breakfast, which provides breakfasts to hungry children in disadvantaged areas of the UK, welcomed the plan and urged other parties to follow suit.
He said: “We know from the schools we support that the provision of a school breakfast offers a range of benefits for children, including improved concentration and behaviour.
“A healthy breakfast has been shown to boost academic progress, contributing to the closure of the attainment gap and helping to ensure that every child has the chance to unlock their potential and succeed in life.”
Ms Rayner also pledged to cap the cost of school uniforms and reinstate grants for families struggling to afford uniform and equipment.
The Children’s Society have said that a million children have parents who were pushed in to debt due to the price of school uniforms.
The Tories first pledged to regulate costs in November 2015 but have failed to bring forward legislation to do so.
Labour would extend after-school clubs into the evenings for an initial 800,000 children, while over 2,500 schools in the most deprived areas would also be open to look after children during the school holidays.
The moves are part of Labour’s broader plans to improve educational standards for all children by capping class sizes at 30, recruiting 20,000 more teachers and guaranteeing that every child is taught by a qualified teacher.
They would invest to make sure all school buildings are safe with a £7bn fund to tackle the backlog of repairs.
And they would reverse funding cuts with more resources for the most disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs.
The total additional investment in schools over three years would amount to £25bn, compared to £14bn promised by the Tories.
It follows a decade of austerity in schools, with a real terms freeze in schools funding.
The Resolution Foundation think tank found that if the Tory manifesto were implemented, child poverty would rise to a 60 year high.
Ms Rayner said: “We will invest in record per pupil funding, restore the Pupil Premium and close the gap in support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, to give every child the support they need.
“The Tories cannot be trusted to do this. They have slashed school funding for the first time in a generation, leaving pupils taught by unqualified teachers, crammed in to super-sized classes, and not receiving the support they need.”
Over 600,000 children are currently being taught by unqualified teachers, up by hundreds of thousands since 2012.
Nearly half a million children are crammed in to super-sized classes, up by 29% since 2010
Almost 130 ‘titan’ primary schools have over 800 pupils, a sevenfold increase since 2010.
Meanwhile, almost 27,000 children are taught in primary schools of over 1,000 pupils. There were none in 2010.
It came as the relaunched School Cuts website at www.schoolcuts.org.uk showed the Tories’ manifesto means schools will have £2bn less spending power in 2020/21 than they did in 2015/16.
