30 Sep 2024
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Innovate by name and nature. Food choice, flexibility, quality and speed are at the heart of what we do. Inspired by the best and most fashionable high street concepts, we pride ourselves on fusing fantastic quality food with quick service.
Everything has to start with fantastic quality and responsible food. Across our wide, diverse and ever-changing menus, we ensure that every single morsel is safe, sustainable and tastes great. We only source from farmers, wholesalers and catering butchers that are audited to UKAS accredited standards and meet the highest possible assurance levels.
We use our ears and listen to students, understanding what they want and then reflecting their desires on our menus, in our environments and through our initiatives. Working with Chiswick School in this way embeds us as a valued part of your community.
In addition to great food in great environments, we are committed to becoming an ‘Impact Organisation’ and doing whatever we can to create a better world. We operate a sustainable and responsible business model, minimising packaging (especially plastics), food waste and energy consumption, whilst maximising recycling and composting. We also help people who might otherwise find it difficult to enter the workforce, creating opportunities and facilitating ongoing personal development.
As an Impact Food Group caterer, our vision and values are entirely aligned to working with our schools to create a positive food culture and change the eating habits of a generation. Our approach and commitment to brilliant food, genuine partnership, impassioned service and rejuvenating our planet, drives huge benefits for the school, the students and the environment, both now and in the future.
Yours faithfully,
Jaime Gardener
Operations Director
Innovate – Impact Food Group
Please click on the document links below to view information about the menu, prices and also guidance on food allergies & intolerances.
Customer Notice - Food Allergies & Intolerances
Home Baked & Sweet Treats Price List
Please click on the following link to access ParentMail where all payments for school meals are processed.
Free School Meals
Your children are entitled to free school meals if you receive:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credit, but not entitled to a Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by the Inland Revenue) of no more than £16,190 (from 6 April 2011)
- Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
- or are being supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS)
If you are in receipt of any of the above, even if your child is in receipt of universal free school meals, please ensure that you apply for free school meals online via the London Borough of Hounslow website.
Biometric FAQs
What is BioStore?
BioStore is a central database located within a school, which stores the information which identifies pupils uniquely to each of the applications used at the school.
BioStore requires each pupil to register only once, usually by placing a finger on a fingerprint scanner, although other identification methods are available.
Why use BioStore instead of other existing identification methods?
BioStore’s centralised system speeds up the registration process – each student need only register once, no matter how many applications requiring identification are in place at the school.
With a Biometric system, students cannot borrow or steal credentials from each other, reducing the opportunities for bullying. Queues are reduced, because the rate of identification of students is quickened. Students need no longer carry cards, remember PIN numbers, or use cash to buy a meal.
Biometric systems save time and money for both school and pupils because the need to replace lost cards and forgotten passwords is eliminated.
Does BioStore record images of individual fingerprints?
BioStore does not store images of fingerprints on its system, and never will. Only mathematical representations of certain points of a finger image are recorded, typically between ten and sixty depending on the characteristics of the finger. This mathematical data is encrypted and is called a template. The data is extremely secure in its encrypted form, and even if it were not encrypted it would be impossible to recreate the original fingerprint image from the stored data.
Is it possible to recreate a fingerprint from the data stored by BioStore?
No, the BioStore system only stores a short string of encrypted numbers, too little data for the original print to be reconstructed.
How secure is the stored data? What would happen if somebody stole it?
The BioStore database is protected by a licence key, meaning that the database and any backup of its contents can only be accessed on licensed hardware. The hardware is stored in the school’s own secure facility, so that the encrypted data is only available to the registered licensee. Even if a school’s security were to be compromised and a backup of the database stolen, the encrypted data would still be unreadable, even by another school.
If I lose my bank card then it can be replaced. But I can’t replace my finger. If a template is stolen, have I lost my identity forever?
The simple answer is no. The fingerprint template stored in the database is merely a string of encrypted numbers. If this string of numbers were to be removed from the database, it would be useless, because it cannot be recognised as a fingerprint. A fingerprint scanner checks for a real finger – it does not recognise a string of numbers.
Could the police or a court of law use the fingerprints stored in a BioStore database?
BioStore does not store fingerprint images. The recorded templates are comprised of a set of numbers which represent each person. This set of numbers will be unique within populations of hundreds, or a few thousands, of people. However, in a wider population the system is not accurate enough for the templates to be usable for forensic matching with any degree of certainty. A court of law would not be able to use this information as evidence.
What happens about twins, or someone who has hurt their finger?
Even identical twins have different fingerprints, and will not be mistaken for each other by BioStore. In very rare cases there are people who are born without fingerprints. Occasionally someone’s fingerprints may deteriorate because of exposure to some chemical products, and sometimes temperature changes can cause reduction in fingerprint quality. However, a cut finger would not cause any problem for BioStore, unless it resulted in major disfigurement.
Is there any alternative for pupils who are unable to provide biometric data for some reason, such as a disability?
Alternative identification methods, such as smart cards and name and photo identification, are always available in BioStore systems. Pupils unable to provide biometric data can opt to use one of these methods, as can any pupil who prefers not to use biometrics.
If I object to my child being fingerprinted, what will happen?
The school will issue any pupil who wishes to opt out of the biometric system with an alternative method of identification. BioStore recognises a number of identification methods, including smartcards, PIN numbers, passwords and name and photo lookup.