School Meals

About Our Café

We are pleased to work in partnership with Culinera, who have been providing catering services at Brooklands Academy since September 2026.

Culinera is an independently owned and operated catering company, established with the aim of bringing about a new era in school food. Culinera create school restaurants, not canteens, and offer a bespoke service to Brooklands Academy.

Opening Times

Years 7, 9 and 11

07:45 – 08:20   Breakfast Club

11.00 - 11.25   Break

12.25 - 13.00   Lunch

Years 8, 10 and Post 16

07:45- 08.20   Breakfast Club

11.00 - 11.25    Break

13.25 - 14.00   Lunch

Café Calendar, Tariff and Posters

For details about this term's menu, special events and more, please see the Brooklands Academy page on Culinera's website.

Application for Free School Meals

There will be significant changes across the country to the way in which FSM are awarded from September.

As a result, your child will not receive FSM in September unless an application is made through the new portal:
Free School Meals Checker - Check Eligibility Online | LGfL FSM

To complete the application you will need your National Insurance number or National Asylum Support Service (NASS) number (and, if you are in receipt of Universal Credit or other income related benefits then we recommend you use the National Insurance number linked to these benefits).

It is important to check eligibility via the FSM portal as the key changes are that:

Eligibility for FSM has to be checked every year. This means that a child will not automatically receive FSM in September if they have been receiving them now - a new application will have to be made.
More children may be eligible for FSM in September - but not every child in receipt of FSM will generate Pupil Premium funding – the additional financial support the school offers to families will be on a case-by case basis.

If you require support completing the application or a paper-based form then please do contact the school at enquiries@bla5d.com or speak to a member of the Admin team in Reception.

Once you have applied for FSM, we can resubmit your application every year to ensure students that should be in receipt of FSM do receive them. Also, if you let us know when financial circumstances change, we can swiftly re-check eligibility during the year.

If you have further questions about FSM or are impacted from the changing rules then we urge you to get in contact with the school.

Further guidance can be found by clicking:  Free school meals: guidance for local authorities, local -authority-maintained schools, academies and free schools - GOV.UK

Cashless School Meals System

Brooklands Academy are moving to a system that uses biometric identification for our catering service. From September, this system will continue to support our cashless catering arrangements and provide an efficient, secure experience for all students.

The biometric system offers several benefits, including:

Improved security — safer handling of transactions within school
Reduced administration — no lost or forgotten cards, passwords, or PINs
Lower risk of bullying — nothing can be stolen or used by another student
No need for cards — students simply use their biometric ID
Faster queues — quicker service at the tills

We want to reassure you that 5 Dimensions Trust fully complies with the Data Protection Act and the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which sets out strict requirements for the use of biometric data in schools. The system does not store an image of your child’s fingerprint. Instead, it converts key points of the fingerprint into a secure, encrypted numerical template. This template cannot be used to recreate the original fingerprint and is used only to identify your child at the catering tills. For your child to use the biometric system, one parent or guardian must provide consent via Arbor.

Students without consent will still be able to access school meals using an alternative identification method.