How reliable will your cashless catering system be in five years time?

For Chafford Hundred Campus Business & Enterprise College, the welcome answer is as reliable as ever. Thanks to Gladstone Education's ongoing support, the school continues to save administration and catering staff time, is able to keep pace with developments such as online payments, and enjoys first-class technical support.

Chafford Hundred Campus in Essex is a leading school in the UK government's Building Schools for the Future programme and takes an innovative ICT-led approach to learning and administration. The site also includes nursery and primary schools, adult education facilities, and a public library. Chafford Hundred has 750 pupils and plans to grow to 900 within two years.

Challenges faced

Before implementing Gladstone Education's OnRecord Cashless and OnRecord Access solutions in 2004, the school relied on a DOS-based system. The change to OnRecord was prompted by an upgrade to the school's Capita Management Information System (SIMS). Director of Business and Resources Alan Wilders was looking for a replacement cashless catering solution that used the same SQL database technology for interfacing. The canteen staff also had concerns with the school's old magnetic swipe cards and wanted to bring the school up to date with the latest technology.

Expectations fulfilled

"We wanted the till system to be as efficient as possible, as the card readers we had before were very slow and cumbersome. By upgrading the tills for proximity cards, it would be a faster system," says Mr Wilders. "Gladstone's was the only system that met our objectives, interfacing with SIMS and running on a Windows platform."

A successful implementation - including comprehensive training for canteen and administration staff - was extended when the school integrated Gladstone's OnRecord application with the access system for door control.

All of the hardware provided by Gladstone works as well today as it did when it was first installed. A revaluation terminal located in the school's main entrance enables students to top up their accounts and check their account balances. Three Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) tills were supplied for the canteen and door controllers with proximity card readers secure twelve doors between the primary and secondary schools. Gladstone's telephone software support and on-site hardware support services are responsive and reliable.

Simplified identity management

The photographic ID card supplied by Gladstone for each student has more than one purpose - it's a proximity card when paying for meals, a swipe card with magnetic stripe for accessing lockers, and a barcode printed on the card is used for accounts at the public library. School staff can also use their cards to work the door access controls. These additional enhancements have significantly increased the value of the school's original investment in OnRecord Cashless.

Saving time in administration and also in the canteen

"The OnRecord system has saved us an awful lot of time in the office," he says. "We don't have a stream of students coming in to pay money onto their accounts as it all goes through the revaluation terminal. The staff in the office can also respond to parental enquiries. Gladstone OnRecord provides us with full reconciliation statements so we can reconcile the cash takings back to the pupils accounts on a daily basis."

Administration of the OnRecord system is done on-screen by staff with no need for paper reports (although printed statements for parents are available on request). Office staff can administer free school meals, account balances, and cash flow while canteen staff find it much easier to manage mealtimes, menus, or track food sales. With a seamless link to the school's management information system (Capita SIMS) it is
little wonder that Mr Wilders calls the system "very intuitive and easy to use."

A rolling lunch break arrangement sees 180 children passing through the canteen every 30 minutes. Approximately 95% of the 750 students have a meal, which is a remarkably high uptake.

"Gladstone OnRecord Cashless enables us to get the students through far quicker. If we had to revert to a cash system, we would have to double the length of our lunch break and extend the school day," says Mr Wilders. "I wholeheartedly recommend Gladstone as the level of support and guidance you get is first class."

A bright future

The four-year old OnRecord Cashless catering system has now put the school into an advantageous position for the future. New staff are easily trained and, when required, Gladstone provides additional SQL reports. While no other enhancements are planned apart from normal software updates, the system continues to perform exceptionally well. Thanks to Gladstone's efficient, flexible and easily extendable OnRecord solution, the prospect of far greater student numbers holds no fears for this go-ahead secondary school.

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