Cashless Catering System
Ysgol Gynradd Llanidloes Primary School has a cashless catering system, used by all pupils to purchase school lunches, the breakfast club and some school trips.
The system allows complete privacy for those pupils entitled to Free School Meals and automatically allocates the appropriate accounts with the free school meal amounts.
No cheques or cash are accepted at school in payment for school lunches or the breakfast club. You will need to set up an account on ParentPay before your child is able to use the Cashless System. You will receive an activation letter during your child’s first week at school with your user name and password and full instructions on how to do this. It is important that funds are added to your child’s account on ParentPay at your earliest convenience. For further information on ParentPay please visit their website
https://www.parentpay.com/
Making Payments
There are two options for making payments:
1. Online – A secure online payment service called ParentPay is available for you to pay for schools meals, some trips and the breakfast club.
ParentPay offers the freedom to make payments whenever and wherever you like 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, safe in the knowledge that the technology used utilises the highest internet security available.
You will have a secure online account, activated using a unique username and password. If you have more than one child in this school, you can merge their accounts and create one login for all your children.
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. Please note the minimum transaction level for making a payment is £1.00. The system is also able to provide you with a report detailing each item of food served, each credit made to the system, for any time period and show a current balance.
2. Pay Point – For parents / carers who do not have access to the internet or do not wish to top up online you can you use any Pay Point facility within the community. To find your nearest Pay Point outlet please visit and enter your postcode https://paypoint.com/en-gb. (For information, CostCutter, Spar, CoOp and McColls are outlets in Llanidloes) In order to use the Pay Point facility you will need a card which can be ordered through the school office. Should you require a card please order it as soon as possible. Payments via PayPoint will take up to 48 hours to be credited to the appropriate account.
Should you have any questions regarding the cashless system please do not hesitate to contact the Catering Service at cashless.catering@powys.gov.uk or call 01597 82 7500.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a cashless system? A: A Cashless Catering System is a solution which is purpose designed to meet the evolving needs and demands of the catering provision, required by today’s schools. It allows schools to be better able to provide their pupils and staff with a faster, more efficient and more appealing meal service. | Q: How do Free School Meal entitlements work? A: All free meal entitlements are entered on to the system. 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. |
Q: What method of payments can be used to credit an account? A: Any amount (minimum transaction £1) can be credited to an account by any of the following methods. Once an account has been credited, the monies cannot be withdrawn and must be spent on the school meal service. Online Payments We have introduced online payment in partnership with the Cashless Solution. To make a payment online please go to www.ParentPay.com Pay Point If you do not wish to top up online you will be issued with a Pay Points card, which can be used to top up your child’s account at your local Pay Point stores. Payments vis Pay Point will take up to 48 hours to be credited to the appropriate account. You can find your local stores by visiting the website below: https://consumer.paypoint.com/ | Q: My child has an allergy. Will this be monitored through the Cashless System? A: Yes – all allergy records registered with the school are entered on to the Cashless System. 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 item must be confirmed in writing by the parent or carer and addressed to the school office. |
Q: Can anyone else use my child’s account? A: No – due to the extensive security on the system no-one will be able to access your child’s account. As a secondary precaution, a photo image is allocated to each pupil. | Q: What happens if my child’s account is not in credit? A: A “lend” can be processed at the till which will then allow a meal to be paid for from an automatic overdraft account. The limit is set at £5 and reminders will be sent via email or text messaging via ParentPay |