COUNCILLORS have agreed to extend funding to help provide food snacks for hungry children at Beech Grove Primary School in Wellington.

It was back in April when Wellington Town Council was told that some pupils at Beech Grove had been arriving for class in the morning feeling hungry because they had not been given any breakfast.

Beech Grove had already been running successful breakfast clubs and after-school groups for children to help those parents who work, but it wanted to provide all pupils with something to eat at the start of the day.

The school asked the council for funding towards providing all 285 pupils with half a bagel on arrival at school each day and also a healthy cereal snack at morning break for the 170 children in Key Stage Two.

Councillors initially agreed to award funding for the end of July 2024 at a cost of £2,842.50 with a review at the council’s policy and finance committee on June 10 to assess and provide clarification on funding for the following academic year.

Cllr Justin Cole told members that he had met with Beech Grove’s business manager, Deb McKie, to discuss the project further and possible future funding.

He said the scheme looked to help all pupils and not just those who had already been identified as being in need of support.

Cllr Cole said it had been difficult to reach out to all parents who were “just above the threshold for benefit support and not on the radar.”

The scheme at Beech Grove ensures that no child is missed out from having a snack on arrival at school.

It had previously been discussed by councillors about running the scheme out at other schools in Wellington.

But Cllr Cole said that consultations with those schools had resulted in them saying there was not a “real need for it.”

Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky said: “This is a wonderful thing, but I think we should keep the door open for other schools if they want to get involved.

“This will help with those children who might not be getting enough food at home and the parents who are embarrassed about asking for help.”

Cllr Andrew Govier said: “This is something we should be supporting and I’m surprised some of the other schools haven’t wanted to get involved.”

Cllr Cole said: “If there is intent from another school about getting involved we should entertain this. We’re not talking about a lot of food, but it’s enough to keep pupils going.”

Councillors agreed to propose to the full council that the funding support be continued at Beech Grove for another 12 months at a cost of a round £12,000.

They had previously been told that children had been arriving at school feeling hungry and that had had a negative impact on lessons within the classroom.

The school had implemented a plan to give children a snack as it recognised that some parents and carers were under financial strain because of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.