Children will no longer pay for their school lunches with cash or cheques under a new system.

The E-Pay Cashless Schools programme was launched in primary schools in 2006 to remove cash and cheques from schools so children did not have to carry money.

It ensures that all the children who are entitled to free school meals are receiving them and staying on site at lunchtime, getting a healthy lunch.

It has now been extended to cover all secondary schools in the borough.

The leadership of Croydon School Catering Management team has been key in delivering this programme.

In the 2007-2008 academic year, dinner money totalling £1,667,179.29 was collected.

The project has moved on to collecting data so they can record what a child has selected via the implementation of an electronic till in every dining hall. This will allow the local authority to measure the impact of its Healthy Schools policies.

Alex Clark, Head Teacher, Atwood Primary School, said: “The E-Pay Cashless Schools Programme has streamlined our lunchtime process at school. We are now confident that our records are accurate and there is a clear audit trail.

“Parents love the new system - they can see almost instantaneously what their child's choice of meal has been; healthy options are now a discussion they can have on a daily basis.”