Student and Staff meals can be set up and managed via Admin>Meals
IMPORTANT
Before you can use the ScholarPack meals module you will need to complete steps 1 & 2 which are mandatory.
1) Set up Meal Types
In the Set up Meal Types section, you can create staff and student meals. Set prices for each meal and add any known dietary information.
If you are setting up your meals module for the first time you will see a green Add New button (see image below), click this button to add a new meal type.
The following page will appear (see image below). Here you will need to decide if the meal you are creating is provided by the school or not (e.g. school meal or packed lunch).
You will then need to input a description of the meal (e.g. hot dinner), select the year groups and staff the meal will be available to. Input the dietary information (optional but recommended) and finally insert the cost of the meal (format must be no greater than 2 decimal points and must not have a £ symbol).
Click Insert to save your meal type. The meal type should now appear in a table within the Set up Meal Types area (see image below).
You are not restricted to the amount of meal choices you input however it is recommended that you keep the amount of meal types to no more than six.
There is a button below called Update All Meals to All Years, this will automatically make the meal available to all students.
Please note that adult meals set with a cost (including Guest Meals) will automatically have VAT added.
2) Student Meal Availability
Set Meal Availability allows you to set the meals that are available to choose on each day.
The pattern of availability is shown for a 20 working day period, however, you can also set the meal types for the entire academic year by clicking on the Assign all year button.
If you do not want the meal available for the whole year simply click the Remove All Year button.
Clicking the red X will change it to a green tick making the meal available for that day and vice versa, making the meal unavailable on that day.
3) Student Dietary Needs
In this area you are able to record each student's dietary needs. This process is completely optional, however if completed, the user will receive a warning whenever an unsuitable meal has been assigned to a student. To begin, type a student's name in the drop down box to filter your results.
Then click on their name to access their dietary needs.
You will now see a table showing the standard dietary needs in ScholarPack. Yes or No indicate whether or not the student has an allergy, intolerance or special requirement.
To update - please click on the Edit button, this will take you to the page shown below.
Using the downward arrow against each choice change to either a Yes or No dependent on the student's requirements then click Update to save.
This data is then replicated in the student's profile in the Ancillary tab.
4) Create Debt Letter
This area will allow you to design a letter that can be sent out to parents containing school meals information; such as outstanding balances. The first stage is to compose the letter (see example below).
You can use tags to insert the following information into the letter (see the image below)
Simply click on the tag you wish to insert in the letter.
It will appear in the position where you were last typing.
You will also have the option to include a basic summary using Include Overview and a full statement of a student's meal records for the entire year.
Click Save to keep the template.
You can then generate the letter for each student using the Meal Debtors report. Simply tick the students you would like to generate a letter for and then select Print Debt Letters.
Once you have clicked Print Debt Letters a word document will automatically download to your computer ready to print for each student (see image below).
5) Assigning Meals by...
There are multiple methods of assigning a meal to a student - either individually or in bulk. Please see the methods below:
*We recommend option B
Teachers Register
To use the Teacher register you will need to turn on this functionality in Admin > Configuration > Register Configuration. Here you will need to ensure that the meal column displays Yes (see image below).
Once this functionality has been turned on, the teacher will be able to choose the student's meals every morning by selecting from the drop down box (the teacher register can be accessed through Home > Register).
When you submit the register, the meals will be saved. Please note this method of entry is only accessible by teachers. Administrators can amend meals through Admin > Meals.
Assigning Meals in Bulk
Follow the instructions in this article: Meal Patterns for students in bulk
Individual Student Lunches
The individual student meals page will allow you to update student meals individually or in bulk, a green tick will indicate a student is having a meal. A grey tick will indicate a meal have been removed from a student. At the top of the page you will see a key icon, this will explain what each colour and symbol indicates on the page.
- The Bulk Action All Dates button will assign or remove meals only from the dates selected at the top of the page.
- The Bulk Action All Year button will assign or remove meals for the whole curriculum year (between year start and year end).
Manage Student Lunches
The manage student meals page allows you to manage all your meals for the day, similar to the individual student meals you can update in bulk and individually. A key will appear top left of the page which will indicate what is being displayed on the page.
The Bulk Action All Students button will assign or remove a meal only from the students on the page only for the date selected at the top of the page.
Individual Staff Lunches
In this section you can manage individual staff lunches. To do this, Select a Staff Member from the drop down box.
A table will appear showing the available meal choices and the option to select their meal preference for the next 20 days. To select a meal, change the cross to a tick and vice versa if necessary.
Manage Staff Lunches
In this section you will be able to update and print staff lunches for a chosen date. All staff members who are present, you can set their meal type by clicking the cross to change it to a tick. You are also able to print a list of the staff choices for use by the kitchen staff.
Select the date of the staff meal together with whether you wish to show all the staff or just those with a meal assigned. You can assign a meal to a member of staff for the date shown by clicking on the red cross to change to a green tick or vice versa
Guest meals
The Guest Meals area allows you to record guest meals for a particular date. You can select the date and then click Add New to enter a guest meal.
You can then specify the type of meal from the drop down, the number of meals and any notes.
Select Insert to add the guest meal.
6) Register Daily Meals
The register daily meals page will indicate any potential students who have a meal assigned today and who are not in school.
If a student has a meal assigned and they are not in school, simply tick the Remove Meal box and click submit. This will remove the meal from the student(s) selected.
Alternatively you can remove codes in bulk by ticking the the attendance code at the top of the page, this will then automatically tick and highlight all the students who have those codes. Click submit to remove their meals.
If you accidentally remove meals you will have an undo last delete button appear on your page, this will disappear the moment you leave the register daily meals page.