Smartcards/Parent Pay
Birchwood High School operates a cashless catering system. All new students to the school will be issued a Smartcard, with a passport-type picture on the front, free of charge. Using Smartcards means you won’t have to worry about making sure your child has cash every day to pay for their meal. Instead, you can top up your child’s card in advance and be sure that the money is spent on school meals, also there’s less chance that it will be lost or stolen. It’s faster too. Catering Staff no longer handle cash at the tills, so the service is quicker and queues are shorter.
Students entitled to free school meals will use the same type of card as everyone else. A daily allowance will automatically be credited to their cards. So everyone is treated the same.
Q & A
- What happens if my child loses their card?
- Your child should tell the Catering Manager and the card will then be suspended and the balance will be transferred to a new card. There will, however be a charge to £5.00 for issuing a replacement card.
- If my child forgets their card how will they pay for lunch?
- Students should speak to the Catering Manager who will ensure they are able to have lunch and their account will then be debited once a new card is issued.
- My child has free school meals - will they be included in the scheme?
- Yes, children eligible for free school meals will be issued with the same type of smartcard, which will automatically be credited with their free school meal allowance of £2.00 each day. Any remaining credit will not be carried over to the next day; the balance will be reset to zero before the next day’s allowance is added, you can add to the free school meal allowance through any of the usual payment methods. Any value added to the card of course, will be carried over if not used.
- How do I know my child won’t spend all their lunch money in one go?
- A daily spending limit of £5.00 on the card means you can be sure your child won’t spend all their credit at once.
- How will I know how much credit there is on my child’s account?
- Students can check or get a print out of their credit at any of the tills also parents can see their child’s balance on Parent Pay.