Cashless Catering System

There is a cashless catering system in the School Dining Room. Students have an individual catering account held on a computer.  They use their registration swipe cards to credit their account and for all purchases at Breakfast Club, Break and Lunchtime.  Students can credit their account by coins or notes at machines in the Dining Room between 8.00am and 8.20am (Breakfast Club), 10.40am and 11.00am (Break) and 1.00pm and 2.00pm (Lunchtime) only.  However, it is simpler if parents send a cheque made payable to ‘Derbyshire County Council’ which students hand in at Reception.  Lost cards cannot be used by other students, as when a card is used at the till, the name and photograph of the account holder appears on the screen.

The system offers many advantages for the Dining Room staff in that they no longer have to handle money at all and all of their financial and stock reports are produced for them, but the main advantages are for our students and their parents. Service is quick so students have to spend less time in queues.  It reduces the need to carry money around school and therefore the problems caused by students losing money have been reduced.  The greatest benefit for some students is that the ‘stigma’ with having to inform staff they have free school meals is totally eliminated.  Foods with ingredients that cause allergic reactions for some students can be automatically blocked for them.  Parents are also able to request a printout of not only all transactions on their son’s/daughter’s account, but also a list of all items purchased each day.

An information sheet about Cashless Catering has been written to try to answer some questions that parents may have (copy attached). If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Sarah Rodgers, School Business Manager, either in writing or via the School Reception.

Cashless Catering Questions & Answers