From September 2026, the only way to pay for meals will be via the Arbor App. This can be found under the payments section of the app. Please ensure you keep the account topped up so that your child is able to buy food. The Academy and Caterlink are unable to lend any money for lunches. Students may call home from reception to seek a top up.
Our cashless catering system in school enables students to pay for meals by presenting their fingerprint. The system reduces the loss of money carried by students and gives parents/carers oversight of how their child spends their money on food in school and what they are eating. It also enables a faster food service.
How it works – The system works by reading a small number of patterns on the fingerprint which is converted into a code and the next time the student’s fingerprint is scanned it simply checks that the same points are in the same places. No fingerprint image is stored and the details cannot be extracted or used for any other purpose.
When are Students Registered? – fingerprints are registered at the beginning of Term 1 where consent has been given. The Academy will contact families in order to seek consent prior to registration.
Frequently Asked Questions:
A. No. Fingerprint images are not stored on the system. Specific points of the scanned fingerprint image are converted to a unique numeric algorithm and then stored in the student’s catering account record. Data is only stored on Academy premises and not on a cloud server. Students and parents/carers can therefore be assured that images cannot be used by any other source for identification purposes.
A. All biometric information will be securely deleted by the Academy in line with our data retention policy.
A. Students can be issued with a unique pin number which they will enter on a numeric pin pad, connected to the catering terminals. This option will utilise data already held by the Academy which will be used to identify the student for this purpose.
A. The account details can be retrieved by searching a student’s forename/surname. An image of that student will be displayed, so that the Catering Assistant can confirm that the correct account has been accessed.
A. They simply place their finger/thumb on the reader. Their biometric pattern is scanned and then converted to their unique account number, which is then debited.
A. The balance available is displayed on a customer screen at the catering terminal at each transaction.
A. The system works exactly the same for all students whether they pay directly or are entitled to FSM. The set allowance will be electronically placed onto the student’s catering account each day (the allowance is not rolled over) but additional cash can also be added by the parent / carer to enable a greater daily spend if required. This is retained separately and is only used when the free meal entitlement has been used in full.
A. Yes. There is currently a default limit of £5 spend per day, however parents/carers can increase or decrease this for their child by completing the appropriate section on the biometric cashless catering consent form.
A. No. Apart from students in receipt of Free School Meals, it is the parent’s/carer’s responsibility to provide their child with the ability to buy food. Students will not be able to purchase food or drink unless their catering account is in credit to the total amount of their purchase.