Ofsted Good GP Colour

Birmingham Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY10 2BY

School Office - 01562 822929

Finance Information

This page provides information to parents about the following

• Parentpay
• Cashless catering
• Free School Meals
• Student Hardship Fund
• Locker rental

The Finance Team members are

Shaun Potter - School Business Manager
Michelle Harris - Finance Officer
Sharon Smith - Finance Assistant
Kate Wilkinson - Finance Assistant

If you have any questions about the information provided on this page or need to contact the Finance Team about any other matters please call the school on 01562 822929 and choose the option for the Finance Office. You can also contact us by e-mail:

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The Finance Office is open between 8:30am - 4:30pm.

Parentpay

Parentpay is an online payments system which enables you to pay for school meals and other items such as school trips, after school care and extra-curricular clubs. The benefits to you as a parent are that the system

• offers a highly secure payment site
• gives you a history of all the payments you have made
• allows you to create a single account login across all your children that attend a ParentPay school
• shows you all items available for payment relevant to each of your children
• emails a receipt of your payment to the email address you register
• gives you the freedom to make payments to school whenever and wherever you like
• stops you having to write cheques or search for cash to send to school
• gives you peace of mind that your payment has been made safely and securely
• helps with budgeting; payments are immediate, there is no waiting for cheques to clear
• payments for many of the larger trips can be made by instalments up to the due date

During the first week of term we will send you an activation letter containing your activation details to enable you to set up your ParentPay account.

If you have more than one child at a ParentPay school/s you can add them to a single account, providing one login for all children at ParentPay schools.

Cashless Catering System

The cashless catering system allows the school to be better able to provide students with a faster, more efficient and more appealing meal service.

Any amount can be credited to an account using Parentpay or the revaluation machine located in the reception area. This can be used to top up accounts by students placing their finger/thumb on the sensor (biometric) or by entering their 4 digit PIN Code followed by inserting cash. Once an account has been credited the monies cannot be withdrawn and must be spent on the school meal/break services.

Biometric is simply a method of identifying an individual person. We will be using an algorithm based scan, which reads between 50 & 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. 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 our provider, Nationwide Retail Systems Ltd, can access. Once an account is credited the pupil or staff member places their finger/thumb on the EPOS Terminal, which looks up their account details and allows them to purchase items using only this method of identification.

Please can you complete the biometric registration form in your induction pack and return it to Mrs Roth (Head’s PA). At the start of the year your child will be required to place their finger/thumb on a Biometric sensor twice to obtain a matching template, which only takes a few seconds. If you have chosen to ‘Opt Out’ of this procedure, your child will be presented with a 4 digit PIN Code.

You can check the balance on an account by the account holder placing their finger/thumb on to the revaluation machine or by entering their 4 digit PIN Code. The current balance will then be displayed. Alternatively, this can be accessed via ParentPay.

If your child is entitled to free school meals their entitlement will be entered on to the system prior to the ‘Live’ day. Students with Free Meal Entitlements remain anonymous at all times as all account types are accessed in the exact same manner regardless as to whether paid for or not. 
Free School Meals

Free School Meals can only be awarded if you or your partner are claiming either;

• Universal Credit provided they have an annual net earned income not exceeding £7,400 (616.67 per month)
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by HMRC
• Working Tax Credit run-on-paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax

If your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, please complete the application form provided in the induction pack.

If your child is in Year 3 or above, you can complete an online Free School Meals Application Form here.

From September 2014 the government introduced universal infant free school meals for all pupils in Reception, Years 1 and 2. Please apply for free schools meals if you are eligible so your school gets this money, even if your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2. This is really important as Pupil Premium is extra money paid direct to schools for each child who is eligible for free school meals, which is used to support your child's education.

When completed please return the application form to school or send it to Free school meals at Babcock Prime, Prime House, Unit 1, Woodbury Lane, Norton, Worcester. WR5 2PT.

Lockers

As part of an ongoing plan to replace lockers within the school we are planning to install new lockers.

Students will be able to rent a locker for the school year by visiting www.locker.rentals from any device connected to the internet. The cost per school year is £18.00. Payment can be made online by Paypal, Debit / Credit Card or by calling Prefect Lockers on 0845 880 2426. Please note there is an additional £3 charge if booking by phone. On receipt of payment the code for the combination lock is sent to you via text or email.

Additional storage is provided in the school changing rooms for PE kit.