Catering

St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College operates a cashless catering system which provides the College with an efficient, fast and improved quality of service.

The benefits of using this system are that it incorporates the latest technology and eliminates the need for students to carry cash throughout the day, thus reducing the risk of bullying.

The system requires each student to carry a card as it will recognise the student account at the revaluation points and at the tills. 

All students will be given training on how to use the system, in our canteens.

Any amount of money can be paid into a student’s account and any money spent on food and drink will be deducted on a daily basis. If required, a daily ‘spend limit’ can be programmed into the system.

This can be increased or decreased for an individual student by making a written request to the College finance office. At present there are two payment options available to you – coin and note payments at the revaluation pay-point or online via the Arbor Parent App.

If you require any support with this you can click the link below, which will take you directly to the Arbor Parent help page: 

getting started - log into the parent portal and the arbor app

Alternatively, you can contact the College office on 01274941941 or email arbor@sbsj.co.uk, where we will be able to support you with accessing and using the Arbor Parent App.

Due to security policies, Arbor will not save card details

 SBSJ Menus

Frequently Asked Questions

How is money entered onto the system?

• Through the Arbor Parent portal or app (under school meals)
• By cash (notes/coins) into the revaluation unit located in the canteen entrances

What cards can I use?

The Arbor Parent App accepts MasterCard and Visa credit cards and Maestro, Switch, Delta, Electron, Solo and Visa debit cards. 

What is a cashless system?

A Cashless Catering System is a solution which is purposely designed to meet the ever-evolving needs and demands of the catering provision, required by today’s schools and academies. Our cashless system enables us to provide their students and staff with a faster, more efficient and more appealing meal service.

How are students recognised by the cashless catering system?

Students and staff can be recognised using by using their ID cards, the cards contain an ID chip which is linked to your parental Arbor account and can be scanned on the canteen checkout, or scanned on any of the balance checker machines onsite to see any outstanding balances.

It is important that your child has their ID card present at all times, this allows us to process the dinner queues faster at busy periods and is also part of our College policy. 

If your child has a lost or *damaged card, you will need to purchase a 'Student ID Card' from the Arbor school shop for £5.

* Bending or chewing the ID card will break the track inside the card and make it non-functional - Please re-iterate to your child to keep the card inside its card holder to protect it from damage

I don’t have a smart phone so I can’t access the Arbor Parent App?

For those who are unable to access the app at home, we have the availability of being able to access the app within College with a member of staff’s support: 01274941941

(Available by appointment only, please contact the College office to request an appointment).

How can I check the credit on the account?

This can be done by the students presenting their card to the Revaluation Machine scanners dotted around the canteen, the current balance will then be displayed.

This can also be accessed via the College's Arbor app under the "Schools Meals" section if applicable.

Can I change my child's daily spend?

Yes – the amount your child can spend throughout one day can be changed by request via the Arbor app

How do free school meals work?

All free meal entitlements will be entered on to the system prior to the ‘live’ day. The Cashless Catering System will, on a daily basis, automatically allocate the appropriate accounts with the free school meal amounts.

Pupils with FSM entitlement remain anonymous at all times as all account types are accessed in the exact same manner, regardless of whether paid for or not.

Please note that any monies not spent from the daily free meal allocation will not be carried over to the next day.

 How do I apply for free school meals (FSM)?

Bradford free school meals application link