Sponsored by
Fingers point way to healthy school meals
A FUTURISTIC till system using technology more suited to James Bond films than school canteens is helping pupils have a healthier lunch.
A FUTURISTIC till system using technology more suited to James Bond films than school canteens is helping pupils have a healthier lunch.Rather than pay with cash, the pupils at Hampton College now just have to scan their fingerprints into the till to get their school dinner.
And the healthier the pupils eat, the more chance they have of claiming a reward at the end of the year.
Headteacher Peter Hains said: “The computer gives points every time you chose a healthy option.
“The points are recorded on everyone’s system, even mine, and at the end of the year there will be prizes for the healthiest eaters. But we already have a very healthy menu. We have never served a chip, or sold fizzy drinks in the college, so most of the pupils eat healthily anyway.”
Since introducing the fingerprint system, made by Peterborough firm VeriCool, in September, the Eagle Way school has seen a 200 per cent increase in the number of school dinners it serves everyday.
Pupils and parents can pay cash into an account either weekly or each term and when the pupils give their fingerprint, the cost of the food is deducted.
The increase in dinners in Hampton comes after Ofsted figures showed many schools across the country have seen a decline in the number of pupils eating school meals.
The Ofsted research suggested that the number of pupils eating a hot school dinner every day had fallen because they were fed up with the long queues, and most had turned to taking packed lunches to school.
Mr Hains said: “The pupils have all said they all love the new system.
“It speeds up the queues as they just have to touch a sensor and all their information immediately comes up on the screen.”
The new system took over from the swipe cards that used to get lost by pupils on a regular basis.
Mr Hains said: “The obvious difference is that you have always got your fingerprints on you. Where as before pupils used to lose, break or forget their cards, that cannot happen now.”
However, fears that it was another example of Big Brother watching were quashed by VeriCool.
Business development director at VeriCool for Schools Paul Coase said: “We received a lot of enquiries on this subject and we welcome the fact the guidelines are in place at last to reassure parents and schools that pupil information is secure and collected by consent.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.