Dear Parent / Guardian -

Your child will soon be attending a Secondary School which operates a Cashless Catering System for school meals.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS FOR TRANSITION DAYS–

· A meal account is already in place for every pupil, which can be accessed using a unique PIN which will be provided by the Secondary School on transition day. Accounts can also be accessed by a Young Scot Card (National Entitlement Card), once pupils have received them. (Applications for the Young Scot Card will be dealt with by the school.) Pupil photos will be taken by the catering staff and uploaded onto their account, for security purposes. Please read our Privacy Notice on reverse.

· Pupils must have money in their school meal accounts before they purchase food from the canteen - cash cannot be taken at the till.

· Pupils will be able to add cash to their account at the revaluation machine(s) in the school, using their PIN. Please ensure that your child has sufficient money with them to buy lunch on the transition days (online payments will not be available until the new term starts in August). Revaluation machines accept notes and coins - except 1p 2p 5p or old £5 & £10 notes.

Cheques are also accepted and should be made payable to The Highland Council. Cheques need to be handed to the catering staff first thing in the morning to be added to the account.

· Pupils who are entitled to free school meals will have the Free School Meal allowance added to their account daily. Pupils can add further money to their meal account should they wish to.

· At the till, pupil enters their PIN and the cashier will deduct their purchases from their meal account.

· Balances can be checked at the revaluation machines at any time, and are also displayed on the tills

· Most secondary schools operate a pre-order/grab’n’go service which allows pupils to Q-bust…...pupils will be informed of the service/ordering options at their schools during transition days.

AT THE START OF AUGUST TERM -

· Any credit left in a P7 school meals account in a primary which operates a Cashless Catering System will be automatically transferred to the pupil’s new secondary school meals account when they leave the primary school; also - any money that was left on an account after the transition day(s) will still be there.

Please ensure that any debt on your child’s account is cleared before the end of term.

· The PIN given on transition days will still be active and can be used until a Young Scot Card is obtained. The card can be used at the till, and to add money at a revaluation machine.

· Online payments can be made via the Highland Council website – click on the icon PAY > School Meals > Pay for School Meals then follow the instructions on screen. You will need your child’s 9 digit Scottish Candidate number which can be obtained from the school office or by phoning 01463 644102. (Note if your child came from an Ipayimpact Primary school – their unique ID reference key will not work at this secondary you will require to pay online choosing the secondary school as instructions above.)

· PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLINE PAYMENTS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE NEW TERM STARTS IN AUGUST

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES REGARDING THE CASHLESS CATERING SYSTEM, PLEASE CALL THE NUMBER BELOW

Highland Council Catering Service HQ,

Ruthven House, Drummond Road, Inverness, IV2 4NZ. Tel: 01463 644102 Fax: 01463 644101