News

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

Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.

Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.

Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.

On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.

Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.

After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.

The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.

This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.

Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.

After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.

Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.

It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.

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The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE

Featured Image: @samserved (via Instagram)

News

24-hour bus services are now running across all Greater Manchester boroughs

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Night bus

24-hour bus services are now running across all boroughs in Greater Manchester.

You may remember that back in March, it was announced that every borough of Greater Manchester was set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy… and now it’s official, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched those 24-hour buses this month, along with a series of other measures.

Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford now join the rest of Greater Manchester in having 24-hour bus services, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.

It’s expected that these new services will help around 625,400 people working in the night-time economy across Greater Manchester, as well as those out enjoying the region’s nightlife, TfGM has said.

The routes which will run around the clock from Thursday until Sunday are:

  • 50 (Salford – Manchester)
  • 216 (Tameside – Manchester)
  • 263 (Trafford – Manchester)
  • 192 (Stockport – Manchester)
  • 83 (Oldham – Manchester)
All Greater Manchester boroughs now have 24-hour bus services / Credit: TfGM

They launch alongside the most significant service changes to the Bee Network since the completion of bus franchising last year – including other new bus routes, and more frequent services across Greater Manchester.

“We want everyone to be able to enjoy everything Greater Manchester offers, without the worry of how to get there and get home,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.

“By growing the Bee Network, we’re making it easier than ever for people to use the bus, day and night.

“Our night buses are already providing a lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who are growing our night-time economy and working in essential public services.”

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“Whether people are heading home from a night at the theatre or starting the early shift at a hospital, they can now get on board the night bus as a safe and affordable way to travel.”

Further improvements will delivered from January 2027, and a full breakdown by borough can be found on the Bee Network website here.

Featured Image – Aleksandr Popov (via Unsplash)

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