The St Lawrence Academy has moved to a fingerprint recognition system for our cashless catering and printing solutions. This will remove the need for the students to have to use the current card system. The move is part of a project to improve the catering solution and help to enhance the students’ experience. In order for your child to opt in to biometric recognition, we require your consent via the Arbor APP or by completing the attached CONSENT FORM as detailed below.
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 or looks at the camera, the software reads key features (unique patterns on a fingerprint or distance between facial features for facial recognition) 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 school meals.
Can these biometrics registrations be used by any other agency?
No, the software turns your child’s physical characteristics into an encrypted (using AES 256) 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 School?
When a student leaves school 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 school meals?
Yes, an alternative method of authentication will be available. The option available is a personal pin number.
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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.
Biometrics opt-in form
Download the Arbor App via the App Store or Google Play
Download for iOS (Apple iPhone/iPad)
Download for Android (Google Play Store)
Logging In For the First Time
Use the email address we have on our system for you, and if you haven’t been provided with a password, or simply can’t remember it, then click the ‘Forgotten your password?’ link on your login page to have a reset password email sent to you.
This email/ letter will confirm your username (your email on school record) and a link for you to click on that will take you directly to the academy Parent Portal site.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
Yours sincerely
G Drinkall
Garry Drinkall
Senior Manager Systems & Structures
