We use biometric technology for our cashless catering system.  This is a convenient method for registration and increases efficiency with serving food. Queuing times have been halved, enabling young people to access our facilities more quickly.  The process of obtaining lunch is easier for students entitled to a free school meal and generally, as lunches can be paid for in advance at the start of the school day/week, your child also has the benefit of not having to worry about losing money throughout the morning. 

We chose the Live Register system because it uses the latest biometric technology to scan a student’s finger; this generates a unique number used in the Live Register system to identify your child, allowing them to register and to spend money from their cashless account.  The fingerprint is not stored and cannot be used by any other system.

In compliance with the Protection of Freedom Act 2012, we require parental consent, before your child joins the academy in year 7, to your child being registered onto the Live Register system using their fingerprint.

Provider: The catering service at Barnsley Academy is provided by Taylor Shaw.   

Taylor Shaw is one of the UK's leading specialist caterers in the education sector.

We operate throughout the UK, providing freshly prepared food that contributes to the wellbeing of young people in their learning environment. Our menus are modern and exciting and served by caring, skilful people.

We work in:

Primary school catering
Secondary school catering
College catering

providing excellent, healthy food services that make a difference to our young customers and deliver sustainable value to budget holders.

As an Elior company, Taylor Shaw is backed by world class resources.

Elior, one of the major international contract food organisations, operates in 15 countries and has 120,000 employees who serve 4.4 million customers every day in 23,000 sites.

Catering Information: Children and young people need the right balance of food and nutrients to grow and develop. A healthy nutritious lunch gives students the energy to concentrate in class and cope with the demands of the day. Our catering service provides a variety of healthy food at breakfast, break time and lunch. These refreshment times also provide our students with the opportunity to develop social skills whilst enjoying eating with other students.

Good Food from Good Souces: We take great care to buy our food from the best producers and suppliers. Suppliers undergo a vetting process which is designed to ensure high standards of quality, health and safety and food safety are met.

We are committed to sourcing food regionally and locally wherever possible and we give preference to fresh ingredients in season. Both measures enable us to make the most of British food and also minimise the energy used in its production, transport and refrigeration.

Focussed on Nutrition: Taylor Shaw’s commitment to health and wellbeing is a vital part of our company’s approach to corporate responsibility and it goes beyond regulatory requirements. The desire to make a real contribution to healthy eating is deeply ingrained in our business, right through our operations, from training and development for our staff to the food we buy, the recipes we create and how we cook our food.

Free of charge: The following are available free of charge (to all pupils) in the dining hall at breakfast, break time and lunch:

• Fresh drinking water
• Breakfast (1 slice of toast) – only available until 8.25am

Allergens: In December 2014 – the Food Information Regulations 2013 came into effect which require all food businesses to provide customers with more information relating to the food served. A poster is displayed in the dining hall. It advises pupils with any questions relating to allergens to speak with a member of the Caterlink staff in the dining hall.

Menus and Prices:  Our food options offer excellent value for money. A sample of the menus are available at the top of the page.  Please note – items available are subject to availability, menu options and may be changed due to unforeseen circumstances. the cost of a daily meal is £2.40.

Cashless Catering: The Academy uses a biometric cashless catering system and students access their allocated accounts by using finger scan identification. Student accounts must be in credit in order to purchase food and/or drinks – as cash payments are not accepted.

Packed Lunches: Students are permitted to bring in their own packed lunch. Parents / carers are encouraged to provide packed lunches which have the right balance of food and nutrients and should not include crisps (or similar), chocolate bars (or similar), chocolate coated biscuits or sweets. 

Free School Meals:  Entitlement to Free School Meals (FSM) is subject to local authority approval (based on current legislation). The FSM allowance covers the cost of a standard meal and is only available at lunchtime. Additional funds should be added if your child wishes to purchase other items.  

Further information, and how to apply, for Free School Meals can found on the Barnsley Council website (click here) or to fill in the application for free school meals.