❓ Mr Sao asks about the expanded school breakfast program. The Minister for Education details the program's growth, funding, and impact on students and families, highlighting its role in improving student wellbeing and providing cost-of-living relief.
AnsweredQoN 143Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
School breakfast program
143. Mr Ron Sao to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's significant increase in cost-of-living relief for families.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the
delivery of the expanded school breakfast program throughout WA?
(2) Can the minister outline to the house what
this means for schools, students and their parents?
143. Mr Ron Sao to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's significant increase in cost-of-living relief for families.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the
delivery of the expanded school breakfast program throughout WA?
(2) Can the minister outline to the house what
this means for schools, students and their parents?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the member for Cannington
for his question and his strong advocacy for his community and, in particular,
the wellbeing of children and families in his patch.
I am very delighted to share
more details about the Cook Labor government's $28 million investment in the
school breakfast program that is running throughout schools in Western
Australia. As the Minister for Education; Preventative Health, and as a mother
of three, I know how important it is for children to get a healthy start to
their day by having a healthy breakfast. We know that a good start to the day
means that kids have better concentration, their energy levels are up, their
emotional stability is great, and it helps students to learn more effectively
in the classroom.
This program, incredibly, has
grown from just a handful of schools in 2001 to over 640 schools today. More
than 530 schools have signed up for the expanded five-days-a-week program
across metropolitan and regional Western Australia. Expanding this important
school breakfast program was a key election commitment that we made. I am proud
that we are delivering this important program throughout our schools. It is
fantastic that so many schools are already participating in the expanded
program this term, and we expect more schools will continue to sign up
throughout the year. Importantly, we know it is delivered by Foodbank of
Western Australia, which is a great government partner that does extraordinary
things in our communities. This means that more students in eligible public,
Independent and Catholic schools will be able to access a healthy breakfast
more often, giving them the best possible start.
The eligibility criteria has now
been expanded to include all schools with an index decile of 6 to 10 and those
schools with an identified student cohort need. I am pleased to inform the
house that more than 110 additional schools have now registered to participate
in 2026. There has also been a 55% increase in the schools that are now
offering five-days-a-week programs compared with 2025. We know that prior to
the expansion, many schools were providing free breakfast to students on two
days a week. This increase will mean not only greater consistency for students,
but also real cost-of-living relief for families. Importantly, and what is
often overlooked, is that as part of this expansion, eligible schools will
receive funding to support them to run the program, making them less reliant on
volunteers. That is a really critically important part of this. We are
supporting our schools in the important work they are doing.
Earlier this week I was at Gibbs
Street Primary School with the member for Cannington and the Premier to see
what impact the five-days-a-week program is having at that school. That school
is doing an extraordinary job of supporting students before school, whether it
is making sure that the students are well fuelled up, to their reading programs
before school and sporting activities.
Schools are invited to register
through Foodbank at any point this year if they want to get on board, and I
encourage all eligible schools to take up this opportunity so that we can
continue to build strong and supported local communities no matter where they
are in Western Australia.
The Speaker: Thank you, minister. The member for
Carine with the last question.
for his question and his strong advocacy for his community and, in particular,
the wellbeing of children and families in his patch.
I am very delighted to share
more details about the Cook Labor government's $28 million investment in the
school breakfast program that is running throughout schools in Western
Australia. As the Minister for Education; Preventative Health, and as a mother
of three, I know how important it is for children to get a healthy start to
their day by having a healthy breakfast. We know that a good start to the day
means that kids have better concentration, their energy levels are up, their
emotional stability is great, and it helps students to learn more effectively
in the classroom.
This program, incredibly, has
grown from just a handful of schools in 2001 to over 640 schools today. More
than 530 schools have signed up for the expanded five-days-a-week program
across metropolitan and regional Western Australia. Expanding this important
school breakfast program was a key election commitment that we made. I am proud
that we are delivering this important program throughout our schools. It is
fantastic that so many schools are already participating in the expanded
program this term, and we expect more schools will continue to sign up
throughout the year. Importantly, we know it is delivered by Foodbank of
Western Australia, which is a great government partner that does extraordinary
things in our communities. This means that more students in eligible public,
Independent and Catholic schools will be able to access a healthy breakfast
more often, giving them the best possible start.
The eligibility criteria has now
been expanded to include all schools with an index decile of 6 to 10 and those
schools with an identified student cohort need. I am pleased to inform the
house that more than 110 additional schools have now registered to participate
in 2026. There has also been a 55% increase in the schools that are now
offering five-days-a-week programs compared with 2025. We know that prior to
the expansion, many schools were providing free breakfast to students on two
days a week. This increase will mean not only greater consistency for students,
but also real cost-of-living relief for families. Importantly, and what is
often overlooked, is that as part of this expansion, eligible schools will
receive funding to support them to run the program, making them less reliant on
volunteers. That is a really critically important part of this. We are
supporting our schools in the important work they are doing.
Earlier this week I was at Gibbs
Street Primary School with the member for Cannington and the Premier to see
what impact the five-days-a-week program is having at that school. That school
is doing an extraordinary job of supporting students before school, whether it
is making sure that the students are well fuelled up, to their reading programs
before school and sporting activities.
Schools are invited to register
through Foodbank at any point this year if they want to get on board, and I
encourage all eligible schools to take up this opportunity so that we can
continue to build strong and supported local communities no matter where they
are in Western Australia.
The Speaker: Thank you, minister. The member for
Carine with the last question.
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