School kids lunch account. Thumbprint biometric.

[monkeysox]

Aibu in thinking that continuing to use such a system with hundreds of kids passing through a dining all (albeit a year group at a time) is fucking ridiculous.
All touching same pad. Not being wiped each time.
Have seen this in two.schools recently.

DS' school have disabled the thumbpads and issued cards instead.

Ours required even the youngest kids to memorize a short account number. Turns out they handled it just fine.

My kids school tell them to use hand sanitiser after using it.

My sons school has this option, but you can use a card as well. But no school dinner option at the moment.

My DDs school have sanitizer at the entrance to the canteen, then another right after the biometric pad, so in theory the kids hands are sanitized before and after touching it.

The school have got cards for children who dont want to touch the thumb pad but they're a faff so most kids havent bothered with them.

My company has stopped using these for now. The school can't have done a proper risk assessment if they haven't changed the system.

Ours are being wiped between uses and/or sanitise your hands.

Contact with a sensor is very unlikely to spread Covid unless a child coughs on the sensor. This is an airborne illness spread by breathing. That is why masks are the best defence.

I thought this too but dd hasn’t been into the cafe yet because she doesn’t want to so no idea what their sanitising procedure is. Saving me a fortune as not buying muffins and crap!

Today I Learned schoolchildren have to have their fingerprints taken in order to get fed .

safari Usually it is a great model, nothing to get stolen or lost, they can't forget their finger. The fingerprint is turned into a number, the actual fingerprint isn't stored anywhere. Much faster than cash or a card.

This is an airborne illness spread by breathing.

Ffs no it isn’t. If it was airborne we’d be fucked!

It’s a virus spread by droplets expelled when cough/sneeze etc. They then fall to the floor, or onto surfaces around the area. Hence sanitising surfaces and washing hands.!

I'm a big fan of the system in "normal" times. As PP have said, you can't lose your thumb.

My kids' school has suspended it and is taking names instead.

Only one year group in the canteen per day but even so that's going to be a loooong queue.

Today I Learned schoolchildren have to have their fingerprints taken in order to get fed

I am equally shocked.

Have you actually asked the school what the system is currently? Schools are working really hard on being as safe as possible. As other people have said are they sanitising their hands? I would doubt that they are just carrying on as normal. Usually this system also has the option to use a number instead of a thumb print. I suggest you speak to the school to see what precautions they are using or provide a packed lunch.

😂😂😂 You can object to having their fingerprints taken and send them with packed lunch

DD's school has disabled the biometrics which they also used as a registration tool.

They now have electronic cards on lanyards. These can be used in the tuck shop and for registration.

My son's secondary school has swapped over to a card system with a lanyard.

Ds1 is at sixth form they are doing contactless card payments.

And yes, lots of children in secondary schools pay using a fingerprint system, money is loaded onto the account online so no cash in school at all, no chance of losing it or having it stolen. It is brilliant, it also means children on free school meals are no different than their friends. They are allowed up to £2.52? I think, parents can top up the account if they want to spend more. So usually a fingerprint, but now a card on a lanyard with their year group on.

My daughter's rarely buy food from school anyway and at the moment children are being encouraged to take packed lunches although they can buy food.
Apperently they sanatise hands before and after and there is a member of staff to clean the screen in between.
They don't have to have a thumbprint either. Just take a packed lunch and problem solved.

Biometric prints aren't stored as a print - the print goes through an algorithm and the result is stored - not the actual print.
Each time the user scans their print it goes thorough the same algorithm and is compared to find a match.

Sanitise before and after. Simples.

@StripyHorse but they don't

They do at my school 🤷‍♀️

Withhold consent for biometrics and request a PIN. I always do.

My catering team have a box of wipes and wipe the thumb reader between every user.
Kids sanitise on the way in and out of the dining room.