Catering
ParentPay Cashless Catering
Wanstead High School is now a cashless school.
As you may be aware, we operate a Cashless Catering system at Wanstead High. Each pupil has an individual ParentPay account and funds can be added either online or at any local store where the ParentPay logo is displayed.
ParentPay is used by the school for pupils to pay for their meals and also for music lessons and trips, which avoids the need for pupils to be carrying large amounts of cash. To help reduce costs in our school, correspondence is now being sent via email. This is done primarily via ParentPay. Please ensure that the school holds a current email address for you. Remember to inform the school should your email address or contact numbers change.
Please find below frequently asked questions and more information about the scheme.
FAQs
What is ParentPay?
This is the system that allows parents to put money onto their child's account. Parents register for ParentPay online and then select payments towards school meals. You can add funds to the ParentPay account via the ParentPay website. (Please click here).
Please note that Parentpay have changed the way money is deposited onto cashless catering accounts. You will now need to deposit a set amount of money onto your account and then from that sum make a payment transfer to the item of your choosing be that your child’s lunch account or a school trip.
For more information please refer to their official guidance *here*. Support is also available from the school, just call us up and ask to speak to a member of IT Support regarding your child’s ParentPay account and we will try to assist you.
How do I get started?
We will send you an activation letter when your child enrolls enabling you to setup your ParentPay account. The activation letter will contain a personal activation username and password to enable you to login to ParentPay. During the activation process you will be guided through changing your username and password to something more memorable; you can also merge your accounts if you have more than one child at Wanstead High School.
My child is entitled to free school meals, what should I do?
Nothing! Your meal allowance will be added each day and will be ready to from 9am.
My child is entitled to free school meals but would like to buy food at times of the day outside of lunchtime.
You will need to register with ParentPay and add funds to your account using the website.
The balance in school is showing as zero but funds have been added via the ParentPay website
It takes up to 48 hours for funds to be shown on your account. Please remember to plan in advance when topping up.
Contacting ParentPay:
Telephone enquiries regarding password changes, email address changes, merging accounts etc should be directed to ParentPay on 02476 994 820 (Mon-Fri 8:30am - 5pm). Select option 1 for Cashless Catering.
Wanstead High are able to assist with some account queries (authorisation codes for new users, viewing account details, confirming balance etc). Please email whs@wansteadhigh.co.uk . We are not able to make fundamental changes to accounts as the accounts are private between the user and ParentPay themselves.
About ParentPay
What does ParentPay do?
ParentPay
- enables you to pay for school dinners and trips
- offers a highly secure payment site
- gives you a history of all the payments you have made
- allows the merging of accounts if you have more than one child at 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
How does ParentPay help you?
ParentPay
- 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
- ParentPay is quick and easy to use
How does ParentPay help our school?
ParentPay
- reduces the administrative time spent on banking procedures
- keeps accurate records of payments made to every service for every pupil
- ensures that payments do not bounce
- reduces paper ‘waste’
- allows for easy and quick refunds to be made back to your account
- improves communication between the school and parents concerning payments
- offers a more efficient payment collection process, reducing the amount of money held on school premises
canteen provider InNovate:
Our New Catering Supplier
Innovate are delighted to partner with the pupils, teachers and staff at Wanstead High School. Our aim, along with the school, is to provide all pupils with an exceptional catering experience. Our very talented Executive Chef and the fantastic catering team will be serving exciting menus packed with healthy ingredients that are full of variety, and with loads of interesting new things to try. It’s important that the food tastes as good as it looks, and we’re sure you won’t be disappointed.
What’s on the menu?
Innovate has long been considered the most inventive school caterer and that’s because we’re very clear about our food. All our dishes are prepared every day using quality, fresh and seasonal ingredients that are responsibly sourced. As well as ensuring the food on the plate is healthy, we want our customers to understand the importance of eating the right foods and help them with their food and nutrition journey. Here’s a taste of what’s to come:
A huge selection of 'grab and go' items including baguettes, paninis, burritos and salads to name a few, all now using our barcode system to help speed up the queues.
A variety of healthy, tasty main meals are prepared fresh every day from carefully selected ingredients. The menu will follow a similar weekly pattern, so you know what to expect, providing over 35 choices each day in addition to the ever-popular chef specials, themed events and loyalty schemes.
Our Street Vibes range, global street food that tours the world. It’s always changing; from Korean fried chicken, Chinese bao buns, to Greek souvlaki, there’s always something new to try!
A salad bar bursting with flavour from traditional garden salads through to composite salads with a wide variety of grains, proteins and dressings.
Theme days: we're travelling around the world! We'll go to different regions each half-term, with 3 days of special dishes alongside Street Vibes Street food for the whole half-term. There are also lots of individual special days and promotions that will run throughout the year!
What meal deals are available?
The most popular meal deal is the Blue Dot meal deal for £2.65. Pupils can choose any 4 items (usually 95p each) displaying a blue dot sticker. Items include selected rolls, sandwiches, drinks, cakes and tray bakes, fruit bags, and more! The Blue Dot meal deal is also available to pupils who have an FSM allowance.
I have a free school meal allowance. What can I have?
If you are eligible for Free School Meals, we have a variety of dishes available which can be bought with your daily funding allowance. This is a private matter, so credit is loaded automatically onto your account and is used in the same way as all our customers. Extra money can be loaded on to the account, if you wish, and does not impact on the funding at all. It’s definitely worth checking your eligibility on the government website.
Tell us what you think?
Once you’ve tried our service, let us know what you think. Drop us an email at hello@impactfood.co.uk to tell us about your dining experience. We also run regular customer and parent surveys which are sent out via the school, with the results being used to improve our service and adapt our menus. We look forward to seeing you soon! Yours sincerely, Scott Reader, Regional Operations Manager.
mid-morning break menu & canteen menu:
Innovate offers a wide choice of fresh and healthy meals. Please see the links below for our 3-week menu and current price list.
