Children at 20 south London primary schools will be offered free breakfasts for a year under a local council's pilot scheme to tackle food poverty during the cost of living crisis.

Wandsworth Council said the scheme will be rolled out to other schools in the borough if the initiative proves to be successful.

All kids at the schools where the council-funded scheme is being piloted can access free, healthy, hot breakfasts as part of the authority's wider plans to make sure more pupils get access to free meals. The scheme is being run in partnership with charity Magic Breakfast, which provides schoolchildren at risk of hunger with healthy breakfasts across the UK.

The council said three per cent of primary school pupils in Wandsworth have nothing to eat for breakfast, while 17 per cent of secondary school students do not eat lunch. A total of 19 per cent are obese by the age of 11 as unhealthier food is often cheaper, the authority added.

Wandsworth Foodbank said it provided locals with 9,908 emergency food supplies between April 2021 and March 2022 – a 53 per cent increase on pre-pandemic levels – in its most recent report. The foodbank said 36 per cent of these supplies were for kids.

Labour councillor Kate Stock, cabinet member for children, said: "We believe that every child has the basic right to healthy food. Understanding the link between healthy breakfasts and readiness to learn makes addressing food poverty a priority for us." 

She added: "This particular initiative will help many families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and fundamentally ensure that children are well-fed and ready to have a great day at school."

Clare Mitchell, associate headteacher at St Mary's RC Primary School in Battersea, where the scheme is being trialled, said all kids could access sit-down breakfasts and a bagel on their way into school. She said: "It means every child has access to a breakfast and can start the day fuelled and ready to learn."

The pilot is part of the children's school food strategy which the council is developing with families, organisations including the NHS and voluntary groups. The council said the strategy aims to tackle food poverty during the cost-of-living crisis.