Catering - How do I get my food and drink?
As a student at The Blue we aim to provide you with a range of healthy, delicious meals and snacks at an affordable price from 8.00am to 2.00pm every school day.
Catering Service - When and where by Year Group
How much does it cost and how do I pay?
As a student, a personal catering account has been set up for you. We use a Cashless Catering System where no money payment is made at the tills. Instead you can register your purchase at the till by use of your finger/thumb (biometric "3 points on the finger/thumb tip" recognition) or by entering your unique, individual pin number. Your personal catering account is immediately debited with the total amount of your purchase.
How much does it cost?You or your parents/carers can top-up (credit) your catering account via SCOPAY Online payments, (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). This needs to be done at least 15 minutes before you intend to make a purchase at the till. You can also top-up your catering account by cash at one of the two pay stations in school located in Milton Galleries and Kennion Vestibule.
If you or your parents/carers do not give consent for use of your finger/thumb biometric data, you will be provided with a unique pin number. You can enter this pin number at the till to pay for your purchase. Keep the pin number to yourself so that others do not spend your catering money.
We aim for our catering service to financially break-even, income collected covering the cost of the service to you. We are working to keep the cost of our Meal Deal at £3.20 - your best value option for food and drink every day.
Best Value - Meal Deal We appreciate that many families will be struggling with rising costs. Please make sure that you speak to your parents/carers about how much you can spend on food and drink each day. £3.20 will buy you a meal deal - a main meal with pudding and selected drink (or equivalent cold snack).
We set a default £5.00 spend per day for all new students, which will enable you to buy a meal plus a breakfast item or snack at break. But we understand that costs to families can mount up, especially if you have brothers or sisters in school with you. Your parents/carers can choose to change your daily spend limit by emailing our Finance Office at finance@theblueschool.somerset.sch.uk. A member of the school's finance team will make contact to verify the request.
Free School Meals
If you are entitled to a free school meal, £3.20 per day is automatically credited to your personal catering account everyday. If you spend more than £3.20 per day, you will need to top-up with your own payment (via SCOPAY or at the cash machine).
If you don't spend all your £3.20 allocation on a day, the balance is rolled over up to a maximum of £40.00 cumulative. If you haven't spent your FSM balance by the end of the academic year or on leaving The Blue, your balance is reset to zero.
Your FSM entitlement can only be spent on food and drink at our catering serveries. Nobody knows if you are receiving FSM or not and anyway who cares if they do? Your entitled to it, so don't worry, use your allocation and don't go hungry!
If your parents/carers want to find out more about eligibility for free school meals please click here.
Allergen and Nutritional Information
We are aware that you may be one of the many students who have allergies towards certain food ingredients, which could result in making you poorly if eaten.
If we have been told about your allergy an alert will be flagged up the at the till. But we need you to take responsibility to check the labels and avoid eating something that might give you an allergic reaction. Let Mrs Western or Mrs Nelmes-Warden (in Bailey Servery) know if there is an update to your dietary requirements
Catering Concerns
If you have any concerns about your food or drink please speak to the Catering Assistant at your Servery.
If your parents/carers have any concerns about your catering requirements, they can contact Mrs Western, Catering Manager, direct on 01749 836228 or via lwestern@theblueschool.somerset.sch.uk