YEAR 7 students in Flintshire entitled to free school meals will also be offered a free breakfast/mid-morning snack.

Flintshire Council has announced the scheme which will commence after schools return from their the Easter break on April 12.

The scheme is intended to ensure that children start the day with a nutritious meal, leaving them with enough money to buy a substantial lunch.

The allowance should ideally be spent before the start of the school day or at morning break. However, implementing dedicated ‘spend periods’ on cashless systems can be challenging.

Therefore, the additional allowance can be spent at lunch break, with schools encouraging students to use this before the start of the school day or at morning break.

As with the regular free school meals allowance, any unspent allowance will not be carried over to the following day.

The scheme will be administered by the council’s catering partner Newydd Catering and Cleaning Ltd.

Breakfast items to be offered before the start of the school day or at morning break include cereals, fruit and vegetables and yoghurt.