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Full list of Greater Manchester primary schools offering free breakfasts from next month

It's part of a new 'landmark' Government scheme.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 6th March 2025

More than 30 primary schools in Greater Manchester will be offering free breakfast clubs from next month.

You may remember that the Labour party announced on the final day of its Conference in Liverpool back in September 2022 its intent to give every child in England a free breakfast to start their school day, if the party was successfully elected, as prior to this, only schools in disadvantaged areas of the country could apply for a 75% subsidy to run a breakfast club.

And now, it seems that intent is becoming a reality.

That’s because from the start of next month, a total of 750 schools across all nine regions of England will be the first to kick-off a historic ‘breakfast club’ programme, forming a central part of the UK Government‘s ‘Plan For Change’.

All primary aged children in early adopter schools will be able to access a free breakfast, as well as at least 30 minutes of free childcare every day, in a bid to help support parents getting into work by dropping their children off half an hour earlier.  

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Schools are encouraged to offer healthy, varied, and nutritious breakfasts for children.  

By making sure that no child starts school hungry, the Government says this landmark scheme also has an important role to play in its commitment to ‘remove the stain of child poverty’, as out of the 180,000 children who will benefit in the early adopter schools, around 67,000 of them attend schools in what would be considered deprived areas.

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Greater Manchester primary offering free breakfasts

Bolton

  • Lever Edge Primary Academy
  • St Paul’s CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge
  • Devonshire Road Primary School
  • Kearsley West Primary School
  • Gilnow Primary School
  • Forwards Centre

Bury

  • Radcliffe Hall Church of England Methodist Primary School
  • Emmanuel Holcombe Church of England Primary School
  • St John with St Mark CofE Primary School

Manchester

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  • Oasis Academy Harpur Mount
  • Manchester Communication Primary Academy
  • Crowcroft Park Primary School
  • Pike Fold Primary School
  • St Agnes C of E Primary School

Oldham

  • Richmond Academy
  • Greenhill Academy
  • Alt Academy
  • Westwood Academy
  • Northmoor Academy
  • Whitegate End Primary and Nursery School
  • St Agnes CofE Primary School
  • Greenfield St Mary’s CofE School

Rochdale

  • Bamford Academy

Salford

  • St Joseph the Worker RC Primary School
  • New Park Academy

Stockport

  • Outwood Primary School

Tameside

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  • Greenfield Primary Academy
  • Hawthorns School

Wigan

  • St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School
  • Bickershaw CofE Primary School
  • St Stephen’s CofE Primary School

The schools were chosen from across England to ensure that the scheme ‘tests and learns’ from a variety of locations – including those that do not currently run a breakfast club – and all will receive funding to cover food and staffing costs.

Breakfast clubs have been shown to boost children’s reading, writing, and maths by an average of two months, according to the Government.

“Free breakfast clubs sit right at the heart of our Plan for Change, breaking the link between background and success for families all over the country,” commented Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, ahead of the clubs’ rollout next month.

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“Breakfast clubs can have a transformative impact on the lives of children, feeding hungry tummies and fuelling hungry minds, so every child begins the day ready to learn.”

Featured Image – gov.uk

News

Street parties and Red Arrows fly-over planned for four-day VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Street party

Street parties and fly-pasts by military aircraft including the famous Red Arrows are planned for the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Victory in Europe (VE Day) – which takes place on 8 May each year, and marks the Allied victory in Europe – resulted in millions celebrating the end of the war in 1945, with street parties, dancing and singing all across the country.

And now, 80 years later, similar events and celebrations are set to take place.

The commemorations set to take place over four days at the start of May will pay tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, telling the stories of those who fought, the children who were evacuated, and those who stepped into the essential roles on the Home Front.

The early May bank holiday on Monday 5 May will see the beginning of the events to mark VE Day 80, with events planned including a military procession, flypast of current and historic military aircraft, and the return of the poppies to the Tower of London.

Also on bank holiday Monday is when street parties, barbecues. and community get-togethers are being encouraged to be held by communities across the country to echo the celebrations 80 years ago.

The Government has also issued a nationwide call for families to ‘delve into their lofts’ and discover their own stories from the Second World War.

On actual VE Day itself, on Thursday 8 May, a service will take place at Westminster Abbey that the Government says will be both an ‘act of shared remembrance’ and a ‘celebration’ of the end of the war.

Street parties and a Red Arrows fly-over is planned for 80th anniversary celebrations of VE Day / Credit: Vicki Burton (via Flickr)

All the planned events will conclude with a concert at the historic Horseguards Parade, with more than 10,000 members of the public expected to attend, and well-known stars of stage and screen and military musicians set to perform.

“80 years ago, the freedoms we enjoy today were defended by our remarkable Second World War generation,” commented Defence Secretary John Healey MP as the planned celebrations were announced.

“Our duty today is to safeguard the British values they sacrificed so much to uphold.

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“As we mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War, our grateful nation looks forward to joining our brave Armed Forces and veterans to reflect, rejoice and remember.”

Featured Image – Jason Garcia (via Flickr)

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Manchester has been named one of the UK’s top car theft ‘hotspots’

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Car theft

Manchester has unfortunately been named one of the UK’s top car theft ‘hotspots’, according to a new analysis.

In recent months, Greater Manchester has been earning itself some rather impressive new titles, with wins across areas such as property prices, arts and culture, and so much more… but when you win some, it seems like you also lose some.

That’s because a data analysis of car theft statistics across the UK in 2024 has sadly seen Manchester named in the top 10 ‘hotspots’.

Although motor thefts were found to have decreased by 6% in the previous year, there was still a whopping 61,343 cars reported stolen to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in 2024, which marked the third-highest annual total in the past decade.

The number of car thefts in 2024 was actually more than twice the number recorded in 2015.

Manchester has been named one of the UK’s top car theft ‘hotspots’ / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Analysis of the data from This is Money and MailOnline, as shared by the RAC, highlighted that East London was the worst affected area in the UK, but Manchester wasn’t too far behind.

Manchester took the third spot on the top 10 list, with a total of 912 cars reported stolen in 2024 alone, while some of the other northern cities on the ranking include Leeds and Sheffield.

It comes as no surprise, however, that at the top of the list is the capital of London, with a shockingly-high 8,145 cars stolen last year.

Top 10 UK car theft ‘hotspots’ 2024

  1. London – 8,145
  2. Birmingham – 3,220
  3. Manchester – 912
  4. Leeds – 901
  5. Sheffield – 899
  6. Coventry – 862
  7. Wolverhampton – 616
  8. Leicester – 533
  9. Walsall – 521
  10. Bristol – 506

According to the analysis, there are several ways that criminals are choosing to steal cars nationwide, with one of the most popular being key cloning, where a thief creates a copy of a car’s key fob or key to gain access to the vehicle.

This technique is particularly common with modern cars that use keyless entry and push-to-start systems, which communicate with the car through radio signals.

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Two other common car theft techniques include relay attacks, and key signal blocking.

Featured Image – rawpixel

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