Payments to the school are managed as described in Online Payment - iPay, where payments can be made for school trips, stationery from the school shop and much more. Longdean also use a cashless finger print system in school for students to purchase items from the canteen at break and lunch.
We have a limited number of lockers available for students to hire and they are initially allocated by random selection and a waiting list maintained thereafter. You will be notified, if successful, to make your payment once the allocation process has taken place. If your child has a medical need which you feel will require him/her to have a locker, you can contact the your Year's Pastoral Manager to discuss and we will do our best to accommodate their needs.
You will be notified by email, if successful and a payment request together with terms and conditions will be provided once the allocation process has taken place. A combination padlock will be issued once the locker has been paid for.
Locker costs:
Should students lose the padlock to their locker they will need to pay £10.00 to purchase a replacement. The deposit will be returned when the student leaves the school (or surrenders the locker), upon returning their issued padlock and leaving the locker in a serviceable condition.
We have a school shop on site at Longdean where students can purchase items of stationery, school ties and more. Items purchased online can be collected by students the following day.
For details regarding our school shop opening hours and prices, click here.
Biometric authentication is the automatic recognition of a living being using suitable characteristics. When students join the school, a scan of their fingerprint is taken to enable students to access our cashless catering system. Please be reassured that the fingerprint images taken by Longdean School cannot be used by any other source for identification purposes. The system uses an image of the finger to create a mathematical algorithm and then discards the finger image. Only the numbers remain and these cannot be reinterpreted back into a finger image.
Biometric readers are used at school on revaluation machines and on every canteen till.
In order for students to gain biometric access to the cashless catering system, parents need to log in to the Sims Parent Website or the App and provide parental authorisation within the Data Collection tab or complete an Operoo form upon request.
When a student leaves school all biometric data is deleted.
To see our Data Protection of Biometric Information Policy, click here.
We operate a “cashless” catering system in the school which uses biometric authentication (fingerprint scan) when parental permission is received, or alternatively a PIN can be used.
There are two balance display machines in the main canteen allowing students to see what funds they have in their account. Students account balance can also be checked on the iPay website.
Students can top up their lunch accounts using the revaluation machines with cash (notes, £2, £1, 50p, 20p and 10p coins only; 5p, 2p and 1p coins are not accepted). Please note that students should bring the correct monies that they wish to put on their lunch account as there is no facility to give change in school.
Cheque payments are NOT accepted.
To find out about the best and most convenient way to credit the account please click here. Please note, when crediting a student's account it can take up to 20 minutes for the money to be available on the catering system.
Parents can request a daily spending limit for their child. For example, you can credit £10.00 on your child’s lunch account and set a daily spending limit at £3.00. Any unused money is automatically carried forward to the next day.
Catering service hours
| Breakfast | 7:30 - 8:15 |
| Break | KS3 9:50 – 10:10, KS4 10:50 to 11:10 |
| Lunch | KS3 12:10 – 12:50, KS4 13:10 - 13:50 |
Breakfast Club
Students need to enter school via the side gate at the Sports Hall end of the building.
Break/Lunch
Students must stay on site at break and lunch times.
The canteen serves a variety of hot meals, salads, snacks and sandwiches, or if students prefer, they can bring a packed lunch.
Click on the links below for further details of the some of the menus and prices:
| Cold Drinks |
| Grab and Go |
| Homebaked Sweet Treats |
Once students have finished eating, they are asked to go outside for some fresh air. Please note, this is the case in all weathers so students should dress appropriately.
Catering for Various Dietary Requirements
The canteen offer both meat and vegetarian options and all meat options are prepared using halal meat. No nuts are used in any of the food prepared and sold at the school. If your child has a more specific dietary requirement, for example coeliac, and you'd like them to eat school dinners, you would need to send an email confirming their dietary needs and the canteen will ensure that a meal is provided each day. Alternatively you may wish for your child to bring in a packed lunch.
If your child is entitled to free school meals it is your responsibility to ensure that the entitlement is transferred from primary to secondary school. This can be confirmed by telephone on 0300 123 4048 or via the internet.
Students entitled to free school meals will have their catering account credited with £2.50 to be used at break/lunchtime on a daily basis. Any unused amount will be lost at the end of each week. In addition, there is a £1 allowance added for breakfast and if unused, this will be lost each day.
Refunds – If a student leaves school and has a balance remaining on their catering account, please email admin@longdean.herts.sch.uk to request either a transfer to a sibling (if applicable), or a refund.
If you have any queries about our curriculum, please email us or call 01442 217277.
The new prospetus is being prepared and will be available shortly.
