Online school payments are a hit with East Renfrewshire parents

The ParentPay portal, which is available for all parents to use, has been in place for three years now, with the latest figures showing its ever-increasing popularity.

By digitising this service it has made it more convenient for parents to pay for meals, trips and after-school activities, whilst also reducing the cash transactions which need to take place in schools.

Prior to the introduction of the ParentPay online portal in 2016/17, just 30 per cent of all school meals were paid for using the previous online system, which was less user-friendly. This has now increased to 78 per cent.

And an impressive 98 per cent of other payments for school activities are also now made online through the portal.

Councillor Paul O’Kane, Convener for Education and Equalities, said: “We are an ambitious, forward-thinking council and are continually looking at ways to improve the way we deliver services.

“Modernising our processes ensures they are as streamlined as possible and also makes it easier for our residents. The introduction of ParentPay has revolutionised our catering service.

“It’s easy for parents and carers to load money onto their child’s account, and means there’s no more worrying about children carrying cash to school.

“It also saves time for our hard-working catering staff and allows them to focus all their energies on ensuring pupils are served up the most appetising and nutritious meals possible to help feed their bodies and minds.”