Finance & ParentPay

At Ashlyns parents can make payments for items such as school meals, trips and activities through a secure online payment system called ParentPay.

Using ParentPay

Students are issued with a payment card to allow them to make purchases in our canteen, and the purchase amount is then deducted from their online account.  The details of all deductions made from the account can be viewed online by the account holders.  Parents need to ensure that their children have sufficient funds on their account to cover any food/drink purchases.

Already have a ParentPay account?

If you already have a Parentpay account (either at Ashlyns or with another school), you can simply login to that account and select ‘Add a child’ from your home page.  You will need an activation username and password to do this.

New to ParentPay?

You have a secure online account, which you can activate using the username and password supplied; you will be prompted to change these and to keep them safe and secure as your Username and Password for future logins.

If you have two children joining Ashlyns, you only need to activate one account to create your ‘main account’; you will then be able to add your other child via the ‘Add a child’ tab on your home page.

ParentPay shows you all items available for payment relevant to each of your children and emails a receipt of your payment to the email address you register.  It also offers you the ability to set automated email/SMS payment reminders so you will never need to miss a payment or have insufficient credit.

Please visit www.parentpay.com, click login and enter your username and password above.  You will be prompted to change these when you set up your account.  You will require an email address to activate your account.  

ParentPay holds an electronic record of your payments to view at a later date.  Once you have activated your account you can make online payments straight away.

For further information on ParentPay please see the FAQs at the end of this email or visit www.parentpay.com.

ParentPay FAQs

When can I log in to my account?

You can activate your account immediately, using the details supplied by the school.  

Which cards can I use?

ParentPay accepts MasterCard, Visa and American Express credit cards, and Maestro, Switch, Delta, Electron, Solo and Visa debit cards.  

What if I do not have a credit or debit card?

A feature of ParentPay is the PayPoint facility, for parents who prefer to make cash payments.  If you wish to use the PayPoint facility please contact the Finance Office (Finance@ashlyns.herts.sch.uk) for more information. 

PayPoint payments are recorded by ParentPay and can be seen by logging into your ParentPay account and viewing your payment history online.  The nearest PayPoint stores to Ashlyns are The Village Shop in Gossoms End and Hall Park Service Station.  To find other stores, please visit https://consumer.paypoint.com/.

Is it safe to make payments on the internet?

Yes.  ParentPay uses leading technology to process your card transactions securely.  All communication with the bank is encrypted and neither ParentPay nor the school have access to your card details.

How can I check that it’s secure?

Standard website addresses begin with http: the address for a secure site will always begin with https.  You will also see a padlock at the bottom/top right of the screen on our login page and after you have logged into your account; never enter your card details or personal data on any web page whose address does not start https.

What about our personal information?

ParentPay Limited, and its group companies, operate in full compliance with Data Protection Law; Including the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

The ParentPay Terms and Conditions include a Data Processing Agreement (DPA), compliant with the GDPR, which details both parties’ obligations relating to Data Protection.  https://www.parentpay.com/schools/school-terms-and-conditions/ 

The ParentPay Privacy Notice, which is available to end users, provides further information on the processing activities undertaken by ParentPay.

https://www.parentpay.com/privacy-policy/

ParentPay will NEVER contact you by phone, email or mail and ask you to divulge confidential information like passwords or card numbers. If you are ever contacted by someone claiming to be from ParentPay, please contact them immediately on 02476 994 820.

How do I top-up if I am unable to access my account online?

If you have any difficulties logging in or using ParentPay, please contact Mrs Amamou (bamamou@ashlyns.herts.sch.uk) in the Finance Office. We will, in an emergency, allow students to top up their dinner money accounts via the cash loader outside the Finance Office.