School Meals

At St Peter and St Paul, Catholic Voluntary Academy we use a biometric recognition system linked to our cashless catering system (ParentPay).

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are you using biometric recognition?

Biometric recognition converts physical characteristics into a unique digital signature that can be used to quickly and securely locate your child’s cashless catering account. This helps speed up service and eliminates the requirement to carry cash or an alternative method of access, such as a card that can be lost or stolen.

How does it work?

When the child places their finger on the scanner the software reads key features (unique patterns on a fingerprint) and compares this against the database of registered users. When it finds a match it automatically opens their cashless catering account allowing the operator to complete the sale of their academy meals.

Can these biometrics registrations be used by any other agency?

No, the software turns your child’s physical characteristics into an encrypted string of characters known as a template (no fingerprint image is ever stored). Even if someone were to be able to gain access to the data and break the encryption, this template does not contain enough information to reverse engineer into a usable fingerprint.

What happens when my child leaves the academy?

When a student leaves academy all data can be deleted very easily.

I don’t wish to give permission for my child to participate with biometric recognition, can my child still purchase academy meals?

Yes, an alternative method of authentication will be available. Students will be able to give their name to till operator to access their cashless catering account.

What if I change my mind?

If you initially opt-in for your child to use biometric recognition but later change your mind, contact the academy and we will remove the permission from the system which will automatically remove any biometric data associated with your child and provide your child with an alternative method of authentication.

Are you entitled to Free School Meals for your children?

Why free school meals?

We want to make sure that we are providing your child with the best education and support we can.  Healthy school food has obvious benefits and can help pupils establish healthy habits for life; it can also help to improve pupils’ readiness to learn.

Registering for free school meals could also raise extra money for the academy.  This additional money is available from central government for every child whose parent(s) is receiving one of the benefits listed below.

Who qualifies?

Families who receive certain benefits may be eligible for free school meals.  Your child is eligible for free school meals if you are in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit – your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of state Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

Children who get paid these benefits directly can also get free school meals.

Applying

You can apply for Free School Meals by clicking here.

If you have any queries, or would like to talk to someone about Free School Meals, please contact Lincolnshire County Council Free School Meals Team on 01522 782030.