You will have a secure online account, activated using a unique username and password; you will be prompted to change these, and to keep them safe and secure. If you have more than one child at the college, or children at another ParentPay school, you can create one single account login for all your children regardless of which school they attend.
Making a payment is straightforward and ParentPay holds a payment history for you to view at a later date; no card details are stored in any part of the system. Once you have activated your account you can make online payments straight away.
Activation details
To enable you to have a ParentPay account you will need an activation letter which will give you a unique activation code. If you have not accessed ParentPay before, you will be given this information for the new academic year.
For further information on ParentPay please see the FAQ’s below or visit www.ParentPay.com.
CASHLESS SCHOOL MEALS SYSTEM FOR PARENTS/CARERS AND STUDENTS
How are students recognised by the system?
Each student uses a five-digit PIN. Your son/daughter’s PIN number will be issued before the start of the academic year.
How is this then used to obtain a school meal?
The student simply inputs their five-digit PIN at the point of sale; a display will show the server the student’s name, class and current cash balance held within the system. The selected food items will be entered into the system from an itemised keyboard while the amount spent and the new cash balance will show on the display.
How is money entered into the system?
Using ParentPay. See FAQ on the College Website for more information.
How will the student be able to check their current balance?
On the ParentPay Website after your account has been configured.
If I pay for a set number of school meals, can it be spent in one day?
No, a daily spend limit of £5.00 will be set for all students and no food above that limit can be bought. On request, an individual student limit of your choice could also be set, to include a school dinner and break time snacks.
What if the student does not hold a sufficient balance one day to pay for a school dinner?
The college will allow for the student to purchase food for one day. However, the parent would be expected to repay the loan and re-credit the system by using ParentPay.
What about students entitled to a ‘free school meal’?
The system works exactly the same for all students whether they pay or have a free school meal. All students have their own account to use in exactly the same way.
The amount allocated for the free school meal will be entered into the system by the software daily.
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The system will then allow on a daily basis the required amount for each individual student to be allotted to their current balance. However, any under spend or missed dinner will be identified by the system and will not be added to the next day’s balance.
What is meant by ‘dietary control’?
Should the student have a specific food allergy, or be a diagnosed diabetic, this medical information can be coded into the system, preventing foods with allergy ingredients from being served to a particular student, by automatically locking out relevant buttons on the keyboard.
Will we be able to have any information on how the system is being used?
Reports can be obtained from the system giving comprehensive information on all aspects of use for each individual student. These reports can be for a specific day or between any dates you wish, they will be dated and timed to the minute, and can be obtained from the Catering Office, or through the ParentPay website.
My child has been asked to use their cashless PIN for the photocopier, will this deduct money from their account?
The College uses the same PIN generated by the IMPACT software, for the Papercut printing control software that is used on the photocopiers. This is to prevent the need for students to remember multiple numbers. The PIN is the only way in which the systems are linked. The Papercut software assigns a separate quota limit, but any printing costs from photocopiers for student school work is funded by the College.
Data Handling
Certain data will be held on the system to enable accurate operation. This will include your child’s name, class, photo, account balance and meal entitlement. This data will be handled under the guidelines of the Data Protection Act 2018 and only used by parties directly involved with the implementation of the system.
Iris Software Group maintain and support the Cashless system. Their privacy policy is available online https://www.iris.co.uk/privacy-policy/
The privacy policy for the Papercut Printing control software is available online (https://www.papercut.com/privacy-policy)
If you have any data concerns, please contact the College Data Protection Officer using the email