ParentPay

[Snowdrops]

Does anyone use this system at their dc's school?

Ripon grammar started to use it a week before the end of last term, and we bought into it believing it to be a good thing.

So far we have paid twice, and things have seemed to go through OK.

We cannot, however, access any menu details or see an analysis of the spend and this is part of what attracted us to it. I have emailed them, and I believe the email goes to the school? I also believe it's the school who administers the ParentPay site. However, 5 days later I'm still waiting for a response

Can those of you who do use it access the features I cannot?

[andyb]

We are going to visit a school tomorrow with DS2 and while I was doing a bit of research on their website I noticed a letter to parents about school meals and ParentPay. It looks like they introduced it at the beginning of term and there have been a few glitches - they specifically mention accounts not being credited with funds, however, I was able to acess menu info from the school website.

[heartmum]

My DDs school use this type of system, haven't had time to try it out yet (only being at the school for 7 days ) but it does sound interesting, especially as I would be able to order uniform items for my DD from home on the computer, pay for it, and all she needs to do is collect from the school's uniform office!

It would be good to hear from others with their experience in using this system!

[CHmum]

and all she needs to do is collect from the school's uniform office!

In my experience that is the HARDEST bit!!

[heartmum]

and all she needs to do is collect from the school's uniform office!

In my experience that is the HARDEST bit!!

[TraffordMum]

We've been using ParentPay for over a year now and I find it very efficient - certainly much more efficient that having to rely on my daughter actually taking money to school.

I can't access the menu, but I can see a breakdown of what my daughter buys. It did, however, take a full year for this feature to be *switched on*. Maybe RGS are getting everything up and running at the moment and will then roll out the deluxe features.

[cairo]

DS2's primary school has used it for over a year for payment of dinner money, in common with a high % of schools in Gloucestershire. I have always been able to use it without a glitch. When I had 2 children at the school, I was able to attach their accounts together, so I could look and see how much credit each of them had left at any time. I could always look and see which days they had actually bought a lunch....not always the days when they should have done so, given that sometimes they had a packed lunch with them!

Now that DS1 is at a school without this payment facility, we are really missing it. I don't particularly like him having to bring cash every day.

I've never tried to access the menus from the Parentpay site, but then I haven't needed to as I have a printed version pinned up in my kitchen.

Parentpay is an independent company, which provides this service to schools. I would have thought e-mails therefore go to them. I suspect any problems you are having are simply teething problems - they should reply to their emails though....

[Snowdrops]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I shall give it the rest of the week then email again. The system I will allow the rest of the term to bed in.

I can certainly appreciate how useful it is already - no more scrabbling round for change for a start

[TraffordMum]

I second the poster who said PP is v useful for paying for other things too. I've paid for a couple of trips through it too - much easier than locating the cheque book.

[Tolstoy]

I think schools are being encouraged to use this system but it does add an extra burden in administration costs to the school itself and is possibly why some schools are loath to extend it or use it at all. I do agree that for dinner money it is much more convenient than scrabbling around looking for change at some unearthly hour.

The problem we have come up against is that we overpaid into one son's account and he has now left. Annoyingly the school's administrator is the only person who can shift the money across to our other children's accounts. It would be easier if it was one account per family rather than individual children.