Help for families
Families could see up to £1000 a year back in their pockets as measures to expand free school meals, roll out free breakfast clubs, and cut the cost of school uniform become law today (29 April 2026).
The government’s landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act hard‑wires the government’s education priorities into law – delivering on manifesto promises to cut costs for families, protect vulnerable children, and drive higher standards from early years to adulthood.
From this September, schools will be required by law to cap the number of branded uniform items to three (excluding ties) and half a million more children will be eligible for free school meals. In addition, by September over 2,000 free breakfast clubs will be open, helping parents save money while ensuring children are fed, focused and ready to learn.
Alongside tangible cost of living measures to make families’ lives easier, the Act also represents the most ambitious piece of safeguarding legislation in a generation. Thanks to the Act, the most vulnerable children will be better protected by a care system that prioritises child safety over profit, takes action against illegal children’s homes, and gives Ofsted the powers to act against providers that fall short.
The Act underpins the government’s schools white paper, which sets out further action to halve the attainment gap between disadvantaged young people and their peers, including generational reforms for children with SEND to fix the broken system we inherited.