School at forefront of fingerprint technology

A NEWQUAY school is the only educational facility in the county to collect unique fingerprint data from students.

Newquay Guardian

The technology is used for the school's “cashless catering” system, which cuts out a need for coins or notes.

Students simply press a finger on to a sensor and money is then debited from an on-line account.

Biometrics has been brandished as a “big brother style system” by critics, who fear children's' data could be lost, stolen or used for other purposes.

Steve Dunn, the school's deputy head, said there was no issue over safety.

He said: “All the data is stored on an internal secure server and cannot be accessed by anyone else.

“When this was first introduced we obviously felt it was right to talk to everyone at length about this, to see if there were any concerns from parents or the PTA.

“But I think there are only three students who are not using the system, which goes to show that nearly all parents are fine with this.”

Parents top up an online account for their sons or daughters via a secure section of the school's website.

Every time a student buys a meal or snack from the cafeteria, money is automatically debited from the account.

Mr Dunn said the system had many advantages.

“It eliminates problems of students losing money, or money being taken from them, and it removes unpleasantness for students who have free lunches, who have to explain their circumstances to staff each day.

“Parents can also set a 'maximum spend' for their son or daughter, so they can only spend so much each day.”

The system cost £30,000 to set up and the school pays around £1,500 per year for the licence.

The school said it may look into using the facility to make it easier for parents to pay for school trips and for class registration.

However, some critics have raised doubts over the use of biometrics in schools.

Leavethemkidsalone.com, a national campaign group set up by concerned parents, has condemned the use of biometrics in schools.

It claims the data could get into the wrong hands, or be used for other means by government sources.

Last year Minister for Schools and Learning, Jim Knight, admitted that the police can simply help themselves to the children's fingerprints if they are trying to solve a crime.

In the short time since the practice of biometrics began in 2001, nearly 6,000 pupils have had their 'dabs' taken throughout the country.

Every week another 20 schools join the list.