Navigate to parentpay.com and log in.

Select the Pay for <child’s name> meals button with the symbol to credit your child’s school meal balance.

Complete the amount you wish to pay (within the minimum and maximum defined by your school).

Select Add to basket.

Select View basket and pay.

Review the order summary details and either:

Select Pay now (please note that the amount you are required to pay will be reduced by any credit you have in your Parent Account balance). Complete the secure checkout. You will be given a final opportunity to review your purchases prior to committing your card payment.

OR

Select Pay using Parent Account (if you have sufficient funds in your Parent Account balance).
You will receive an onscreen notification when you have completed your payment.

Q. What is a cashless system?

A. A Cashless Catering System is a solution purpose of which meets the ever evolving needs and demands of the catering provision required by today’s schools and academies. The Cashless Solution allows schools to be better able to provide their students and staff with a faster, more efficient and more appealing meal service.

Q. What is ‘biometric?’

A. Biometric is simply a method of identifying an individual person. The Cashless System uses an algorithm based scan, which reads between 50 and 130 points on the finger/thumb. It is not a fingerprint in any way, shape or form and is of use only in the Cashless System.

Q. How does a biometric system work?

A. The information of a pupil or staff member, who has been biometrically registered, is stored on a secure biometric controller within the school, which only your provider, Nationwide Retail Systems, can access with permission from the school. Once an account is credited, the pupil or staff member places their finger/thumb on the EPOS Terminal Biometric Reader, which looks up their account and allows them to purchase items using only this method of identification.

Q. How does my child register on the biometric system?

A. Registration days will take place leading up to the ‘go live’ day of the Cashless System. During these days, registration terminals will be placed in the school. Your child will attend at a requested time and will be required to place their finger/thumb on the Biometric Reader twice to obtain a matching template. This only takes a few seconds.

Q. What methods of payment can be used to credit an account?

A. Any amount can be credited to an account by way of any of the following methods. Once an account has been credited, the monies cannot be withdrawn and must be spent on the school meal/break services.
Online Payments
We have introduced online payments in partnership with the Cashless Catering Solution, Parent Pay. If you have not authorised your Parent Pay account please contact finance@wilnecotehighschool.org
PayPoint – only applicable through ParentPay PayPoint card, which can be used to top up your child’s account at your local PayPoint stores, can be used in conjuction with PayPal. Payments via PayPoint will take up to 48 hours to be credited to the appropriate account. You can find your local stores by visiting the website below:
www.paypoint.co.uk/locator.aspx

Q. How can I check the credit on an account?

A. This can be accessed via the schools online payment facility, Parent Pay.

Q. Can I change my child’s ‘daily spend limit?’

A. Yes – the amount your child can spend throughout one day can be changed by written request to the school finance office.

Q. What happens if my child’s account is not in credit?

A. A ‘lend’ can be processed at the EPOS terminal, which will then allow a meal to be taken. Alternatively, money can be taken from an automatic overdraft account. An automatic overdraft will allow the pupil/staff member to go into debit at the cost of 1 meal. The Cashless Catering System has a debt tracking facility and the ability to send debt letters to overdue account holders.

Q. How do ‘free meal’ entitlements work?

A. All free meal entitlements will be entered on to the system prior to the ‘live’ day. The Cashless Catering System will, on a daily basis, automatically allocate the appropriate accounts with the free school meal amounts. Pupils with FSM entitlement remain anonymous at all times as all account types are accessed in the exact same manner, regardless of whether paid for or not. Please note that any monies not spent from the daily free meal allocation will not be carried over to the next day.

Q. Can anyone else use my child’s account?

A. No – due to the extensive security on biometric templates, no-one will be able to access your child’s account. As a secondary precaution, a photo image is allocated to each pupil.

Q. My child has an allergy. Will this be monitored through the Cashless System?

A. Yes – all allergy records registered with the school will be entered on to the Cashless System. When pupils attempt to purchase an item, which contains ingredients that they are allergic to, the system will alert the operator and prevent them from selling the chosen item. Please ensure the office is aware of any allergies.

Q Can I dictate my child’s dietary requirements?

A. The system will allow you to register any items that your child cannot consume due to dietary needs or religious reasons. Any such items must be confirmed in writing by the parent/guardian and addressed to Mike Stevenson, The Wilnecote School.

Q Can I request a printed report of my child’s meal intake?

A. Yes – the Cashless Catering Solution allows numerous reporting facilities, including dietary habits. These may be requested by contacting cashless@wilnecotehighschool.org