Cashless Catering – Payment at your fingertips
We have a cashless catering system supplied by Gladstone Education and we are using their finger scanning (biometric) system, which is akin to that found on many modern laptops. Students only need to remember their fingers! With the enrolment process taking no more than 15 seconds per student, this accurate, efficient means of identification will produce benefits for the school, our staff, parents and children.
There are no civil liberties issues since the finger scan is held as a number and not as a scanned finger-print. The scan is based upon a series of measurements to capture unique characteristics of an individual's fingerprint and stores these as a coded string of numbers. This means that an image of the fingerprint is not stored nor can it be reconstructed as an image. It has the advantage over card based systems which do not provide secure information and of course cards can be lost or misplaced and are costly to replace. Biometric fingerprint recognition technology in schools has been given the thumbs up by Becta, the DCSF and the UK Information Commissioner's Office. The new guidance confirms that schools can make use of this technology to support their efficient day-to-day management and security.
There are a number of benefits to the school, to parents/carers and in particular to students:
· Cashless catering enables the promotion of healthy eating, removes reluctance to claim free school meals and improves security.
· Payment terminals and online payment options are available so there really is no need to carry cash in the school environment.
· No loose cash reduces the opportunities for bullying and buying inappropriate items on the way to school.
· Significantly increases the speed at which students can be served.
Arrangements will be made to scan all year 6 students either during the induction evening on 8 July or during the morning of 10 July. A biometric record will be taken of their finger or thumb. This will be held internally on the school database only and cannot be used or accessed by anybody other than the system administrator. Just to reaffirm there are no civil liberties issues since the biometric record is held as a number not as a scanned print.
This system makes mealtimes safer, healthier and quicker, eliminating any reluctance for students to claim free school meals.
All the information about the system can be found on our website within the News section. If you would like to make any comments or have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the school by email to or send a letter to the Finance Manager, Mrs T Colman.
Cashless Catering System - Parental Consent Form
From September 2013, Schools and colleges must ensure that all the parents of a child are notified and the written consent of at least one parent is gained before a pupil’s biometric data is taken and processed further for the purposes of an automated biometric recognition system. This applies to all pupils in schools and colleges under the age of 18.
Schools and colleges that use biometric recognition systems must treat the data collected with appropriate care and must comply with the data protection principles set out in the Data Protection Act 1998.
Schools and colleges must not process the biometric data of a pupil (under 18 years of age) who objects or refuses to participate in the processing of their biometric data. They must also not process such data where a parent has objected or no parent has consented in writing to the processing.
We do hope that you have been reassured by our commitment to comply with the data protection principles set out in the Data Protection Act 1998 and would like to request your consent:
Parent / Carer of …………………………………………………………………………………………...
I give permission for the school to process biometric data for the purpose of the Gladstone Cashless Catering system.
Signed……………………………………………………………………………………………………...
Please print your name…………………………………………………….. Date……………………….
Thank you for your co-operation