Hutton school fingerprinting causes parent outrage.

Hutton school fingerprinting causes parent outrage.


A school in Hutton has been accused of abusing children's civil liberties following plans to record their fingerprints to pay for school dinners.

Such was the outrage from parents at St Martin's School in Hutton, the idea has today been put on hold just a day after the new proposal had being unveiled.

The school wants to use state-of-the-art biometric finger mapping technology replacing the need for cash in the canteen. It would mean pupils and staff simply scan their fingertips to pay for lunches and snacks. But the move has been labeled by some as a move towards a "Big Brother" state.

Concerned parent Claire Flood was shocked to discover all pupils were due to be fingerprinted this week, before another letter, dated the following day, quickly pulled the plug on its introduction after complaints came flooding in.

"It seems to be a bit Big Brother like," she said. "It shouldn't be compulsory. I think it is an infringement of their human rights. I was shocked by the thought of it."

Another parent, who did not want to be named, slammed the Orwellian move by the school."It is an abuse of their civil liberties," he said. "You worry about this sort of thing in other parts of your life, but would like to think your children were safe from it at school. Another unnamed parent said "You just wonder why they need fingerprints. It's not like they're criminals."Another said: "I just don't see the need for it. What's the problem with cash?"

The decision to introduce this new fingerprint technology has divided opinions of parents with some less concerned. Debbie King, 48, who was waiting for her child at the Hanging Hill Lane School, said: "It doesn't really bother me at all. They only have about 35 minutes for lunch, anything to make it quicker."

Head teacher Dr Nigel Darby said the school had put the scheme on hold to reassure parents and to see whether the new coalition Government actually bans the use of fingerprinting at schools, as it has previously pledged.

He also said the data being held would not be the actual fingerprint but a unique number based on four individual points of the print.

As a result he said the data could not be used to create a fingerprint and catch pupils for any wrongdoings such as theft.

"No fingerprints are stored and it is not in any way invading civil liberties," he said.

Another British school, Brentwood County High School, introduced the technology last month, we can reveal, and claim it has proved a huge hit.

If the scheme goes ahead at St Martin's, payments will be deducted from a pupil's account which can be topped up online or by more traditional methods such as cheques.

Dr Darby said those totally opposed to the fingerprint technology could opt for an alternative card and pin system.

He said there were many advantages to the system including the fact it was quicker and easier, plus parents could keep an eye on what their children were eating at school.

The debate of school fingerprinting continues to divide public opinion across the UK. For more information on fingerprinting, forensic fingerprint analysis and dna profiling please visit Forensic Resources Ltd.