New Parents Handbook 2019

Lunchtime Arrangements continued

INFORMATION REGARDING CASHLESS CATERING

Checking the balance on an account Your son will be able to see how much money is left in his account each time he pays at a till in the canteen. You can also see how much credit is left, and what he has purchased, by looking at his account on ParentPay. Using a swipe card as an alternative For those who strongly object to using the biometric recognition technology, a swipe card is available as an alternative. In this case, your son will be able to use the system in exactly the same way as biometric users, except that he will swipe his card at the till instead of using the fingerprint reader. Cards are easily lost, however, and we will charge £5 for any replacement card. Application forms for swipe cards are available from the School Office – this will need to be returned to the school before New Boys’ Day. Free School Meals If your son is entitled to free school meals, he will have the cost of a main meal and pudding credited to his account daily. Any portion of this amount which is not used will be deducted from his account at the end of the day. If he wishes to spend more than this amount on any day, he can credit his account with additional money, as described above. Daily spending Limit The Dining Hall is open for breakfast, break and lunch every day. The system will allow your son to spend up to £7.50 in total each day in the Dining Hall, providing he has sufficient funds in his account. We recommend that you discuss with your son how much you expect him to spend each day and on what items. The Dining Hall offers a freshly cooked main meal each day, and a wide variety of other items such as pasta, sandwiches, snacks and drinks.

The school Dining Hall uses a cashless catering system based on fingerprint recognition or biometric, system. No cash is accepted in the canteen (except on induction day), so your son will need to register to use the cashless system when he attends on New Boys’ Day in July. In order to do this we will need you to give your consent for him to be registered on the Admission Form. How the biometric system works Every person using the canteen has an account, to which money may be credited and from which the cost of food and drink purchased from the canteen will be charged. When he is registered, your son will have his finger scanned by a biometric reader. The position of certain features from his finger- print will be translated into a unique series of numbers, or code, which will allow the system to identify him each time he places his finger on a biometric reader. The system will not keep a record of your son’s fingerprint and the code stored in the system cannot be used to recreate his fingerprint. All information stored in the cashless catering system, including this code, is stored on a secure server here in school, in exactly the same way as other confidential information we store. Each time your son uses the canteen, he will identify himself by placing his finger on a scanner at the till. The till display shows the canteen staff his name, class and the current balance on his account, together with his photograph. The cost of his purchases is debited from his account and he can see his remaining balance on the display. Crediting money to an account Money can be credited to your son’s account via our online payment website, ParentPay. This allows you to make payments online using a debit card or credit card, at any time.

If you wish to put a lower daily spending limit you should initially contact the main office.

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