Catering & Online Payments

Catering and Student ID cards

For more information on our caterers Aspens including the menu options available at de Ferrers, please see the quick link on this page and documents below.

Biosys means less time spent handling cash. Each student has been provided with a coloured lanyard which shows what Year group and band they are in, a card holder and a proximity card registered in their name. The student’s name and photo has been printed on the card, to prevent its unauthorised use. The lanyard and ID card are part of the Academy’s uniform, and must be worn by all students.

Students must use their card to pay for purchases from the dining rooms. The proximity cards will be issued free to students, to attach to their lanyard. Lost or damaged cards / lanyards will have to be replaced at a cost of £3 each for a card and £1 for a lanyard.

Students entitled to Free School Meals have an identical card which will automatically be updated with the daily meal allowance of £2.53 (this will cover the meal deal). They can also place additional money onto their card, which will be kept in a separate area called “Own Purse”. The daily meal allowance will always be used before taking any money from the “Own Purse” area.

The 'meal deal' is currently £2.53.

When you make a payment for meals using ParentPay, that payment will automatically update the card, so that your son / daughter can pay for their food without cash. Cards can be topped up in the dining rooms  using pay stations located in the main corridors on both sites.

It is your responsibility to make sure your son/daughter has enough money on their card to pay for their meal. Unfortunately we cannot allow students to “go overdrawn” on their account.

As soon as a card is reported lost or stolen the card can be “hot listed” in the system to prevent its unauthorised use, and any outstanding balance on the card will automatically be transferred to a new card.

The advantages of cashless catering to you as parents are as follows:

• For Year 7 – 11 students there is a daily maximum spend of £5, so you can add money to the card for any period of time, instead of having to find cash every day. There is no daily limit for Year 12 and 13 students; 

• More secure than cash, as funds on lost cards can be transferred to replacement cards; 

• Re-assurance that dinner money is being spent in The Academy dining room, not elsewhere; 

• Your account balance is available online, and you can see what your son / daughter has bought in the dining room.

You can acess ParentPay via this link:     www.parentpay.com