At their peak, NTCCS oversaw catering for 93 schools across the region. Their proposition was bold: to provide schools with a turnkey catering solution that handled everything—from recording and reporting of meals to managing payments, balances, and free school meal allocations. This offered schools and parents a comprehensive, hassle-free service.

However, NTCCS faced significant challenges. Their incumbent providers relied on on-site servers and localised EPOS systems, which were costly, outdated, and unsuitable for primary schools that needed lightweight, portable solutions. The council required a cloud-first system that could integrate with SIMS.net, enable real-time reporting, and allow parents to top-up accounts and track balances with ease.

Caterlytix supported NTCCS over a three-year journey, not only providing the technology but also helping them manage the organisational change required. A key part of this was ensuring compliance with strict data standards and data protection regulations. We worked closely with internal stakeholders and council officers to demonstrate how the system safeguarded sensitive pupil and parent data, reassured stakeholders on GDPR and information governance, and met all necessary reporting and audit requirements.

To further improve the parent experience, NTCCS adopted the Caterlytix Fully Managed Service. This established a direct support channel for parents to resolve queries instantly with our experts, reducing pressure on council staff and ensuring a consistently high level of service.

"This has been a huge improvement on our previous system and provides an easy, straightforward catering system for our staff and pupils. And, by implementing the Fully Managed Service, we’re able to connect parents with the team for technical support in an instant."

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