Parent Pay
In an effort to eliminate the use of cash and cheques, St. Mary’s has moved exclusively to an e-payment system through which parents/carers can make payments related to their son/daughter’s school activities, including school dinners, educational visits and music exams.
The ParentPay website is secure, payment is straight forward, and no card details are stored in any part of the system.
Details about how you may activate your ParentPay account will be sent to you. If you experience any difficulty in using ParentPay, please contact the School Office for assistance.
Due to the benefits it offers to pupils, parents/guardians, and the school, we would encourage all parents/guardians to activate and use their ParentPay account.
BIOMETRIC SCANNING FOR CASHLESS CAFETERIA
The Bio-Metric image is a unique feature to an individual. This makes Bio-Metrics the most reliable kind of personal identification because it cannot be forgotten, misplaced or stolen.
Each student will be required to have a Bio-Metric image taken of one or more fingers. The image stored does not contain a fingerprint but a string of data. A PIN number will also be supplied as a backup. This PIN number should be stored in a secure place.
When the students pay for their food at the point of sale, the total amount is calculated and deducted from the value previously credited to their account. It will be necessary for the student to identify themselves using the Bio-Metric reader or PIN Pad at the Point of Sale in order that values can be deducted for sale items as required. To avoid misuse of the PIN number at the tills, the student’s photograph appears once the PIN number is entered identifying the student.
This state of the art cashless system provides a much faster and hygienic method of payment in the school canteen, and reduces the time taken to serve each student. This is one of a number of steps we have introduced to improve the student dining experience.
Students entitled to free school meals will have their account credited on a daily basis and this can be accessed with the use of the Bio-Metric/PIN number at the tills. Additional credits can be added to the student account using ParentPay, should the student wish to purchase items outside the Free School Meal allowance.
In the future, Bio-Metric information may also be used for controlling access to school buildings, hence enhancing our child protection and safeguarding features. The Bio-Metric information is collected and processed in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The school will only share Bio-Metric information with the suppliers of the system and will not disclose this information to any other person(s).
