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ParentPay Limited

ParentPay

ParentPay online payments, club & meal management and communications for caterers, MATs and schools, including payments for trips, clubs, school meals, donations, exams and uniform. ParentPay is the UK’s leading provider of online payment, parent communications, income management reporting, meal & kitchen management for schools, MAT’s, local authorities, and caterers.

Features

  • Secure online & PayPoint payments for schools, MAT’s & caterers
  • Finance and business reporting for schools, LAs & caterers
  • School & parent communications via SMS, print & email
  • Parent & student meal pre-booking and/or classroom selection
  • Meal Management with allergen, nutritional analysis & cashless catering integration
  • Module for managing trips and other school activities
  • ISO 27001, PCI DSS Level 1, Cyber Essentials Plus accredited
  • Module to manage Clubs, Breakfast, extracurricular activities
  • Donations including Gift Aid reporting for fundraising, submission & audit
  • Accounts & reconciliation reports with bespoke financial coding

Benefits

  • Manage trips and trip reporting & refunds online
  • Manage & recover debt
  • Time management & efficiency with cashless, paperless office
  • Financial reporting which supports improved audits
  • Engaging parents with healthy meals with parental & pupil booking
  • Allergy & dietary control with nutritional analysis
  • Increased school dinner number uptake & participation
  • Club management to improve safeguarding and registration
  • Gathering online consent and trip documentation from parents for trips
  • Central administration for LAs, caterers and MATs

Pricing

£240 a unit a year

  • Education pricing available

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at nicola.howard@parentpay.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

2 6 7 0 0 8 1 4 0 6 3 0 6 1 5

Contact

ParentPay Limited Nicola Howard
Telephone: 07881915899
Email: nicola.howard@parentpay.com

Service scope

Software add-on or extension
No
Cloud deployment model
Private cloud
Service constraints
Planned maintenance windows are applied out of hours.
System requirements
  • Modern supported Web Browser, security patches applied.
  • Browser Javascript Support
  • Browser Cookies Support
  • TLS1.2 Transport Encryption Support

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
As per SLA.
Standard Classifications are:
P1 - Serious. Resolved within 6 working hours (24x7)
P2 - Non-Serious. Resolved within 16 working hours ( 2 days ). Office Hours Only.
Tickets can be logged 24x7 via email or online web support form. Telephone lines are available from 08:30 to 16:30 Mon - Fri. All systems are monitored 24x7 by our own team of infrastructure engineer
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
No
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
Web chat support
No
Onsite support
Yes, at extra cost
Support levels
Comprehensive details of support are available in the ParentPay standard Terms & Conditions submitted as part of this service description.
As a SAAS solution there is little requirement from schools for onsite support. On site training is available if required by our specialist training managers. Cost available on request.
Support available to third parties
Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
Web based training, project management, onsite training and a support documentation library is available to all users of the system
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
  • HTML
  • PDF
End-of-contract data extraction
Upon completion or termination of the contract, the service will for up to thirty (30) days following such termination permit customer to export its data, in accordance with the capabilities of the service. Following such period, data stored or processed on behalf of the customer shall be removed or anonymised in accordance with the organisations Data Protection Policy, Privacy Notice, and Data Retention and Disposal Policy.
End-of-contract process
Annual licence fee is included. No additional end of contract cost.

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Supported browsers
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
Application to install
No
Designed for use on mobile devices
Yes
Differences between the mobile and desktop service
ParentPay provide a mobile friendly version of the ParentPay application optimised for smaller devices and touchscreen input.
Service interface
Yes
User support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
Description of service interface
The service is accessed through a standard secure web browser interface. All interfaces have been designed with effective user experience and accessibility in mind.
Accessibility standards
WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
Accessibility testing
No specific testing is conducted, however all interfaces have been designed with accessibility in mind, based on WCAG 2.1 AA.
API
Yes
What users can and can't do using the API
Service APIs are used for cashless and catering partners only.
API documentation
Yes
API documentation formats
PDF
API sandbox or test environment
No
Customisation available
Yes
Description of customisation
Customers can upload logos to customise their service.

Scaling

Independence of resources
The core platform is privately managed and does not share capacity with any other tenants. Customer data is logically separated through robust application logic which is regularly tested. Database sharding technology is applied. Significant redundancy is built into the infrastructure and server capacity to ensure the service is always available.

Analytics

Service usage metrics
Yes
Metrics types
Service metrics are provided as required by the client. Standard metrics are platform uptime, support tickets, escalations, activation rates and health reports.
Reporting types
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

Supplier type
Not a reseller

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Other security clearance
Government security clearance
Up to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)

Asset protection

Knowledge of data storage and processing locations
Yes
Data storage and processing locations
United Kingdom
User control over data storage and processing locations
No
Datacentre security standards
Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
Penetration testing frequency
At least once a year
Penetration testing approach
‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CHECK service provider
Protecting data at rest
  • Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v3.0
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
  • Encryption of all physical media
  • Scale, obfuscating techniques, or data storage sharding
Data sanitisation process
Yes
Data sanitisation type
  • Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
  • Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
Equipment disposal approach
Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

Data export approach
Data can be exported using the microsoft suite of tools such as Excel. CSV file format is also supported
Data export formats
CSV
Data import formats
  • CSV
  • Other
Other data import formats
  • Web API
  • MIS:Sync extractor tool

Data-in-transit protection

Data protection between buyer and supplier networks
TLS (version 1.2 or above)
Data protection within supplier network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
SLA available on request
Approach to resilience
Significant redundancy and resilience is built into the infrastructure and server capacity to ensure the service is always available. Enterprise monitoring solutions are deployed and the service is maintained on a 24x7 basis by a full IT team. Capacity management processes and procedures are established.
Outage reporting
Service notifications are provided within the app.
Email based notifications are provided where appropriate.

Identity and authentication

User authentication needed
Yes
User authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Platform management interfaces are only accessible via secure VPN and all access is protected by Multi-Factor-Authentication (MFA).
Access restriction testing frequency
At least every 6 months
Management access authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

Access to user activity audit information
Users contact the support team to get audit information
How long user audit data is stored for
Between 1 month and 6 months
Access to supplier activity audit information
Users contact the support team to get audit information
How long supplier audit data is stored for
At least 12 months
How long system logs are stored for
At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
Yes
Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001
Amtivo Group Limited, trading as British Assessment Bureau
ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
11/04/2023
What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
Schools, councils, other customers, and end users' own local computer systems and networks - and their associated physical locations, are outside of the ISMS scope.
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
No
PCI certification
Yes
Who accredited the PCI DSS certification
One Compliance Cyber Limited
PCI DSS accreditation date
08/03/2024
What the PCI DSS doesn’t cover
The PCI-DSS certification is constrained to the Card Data Environment (CDE) and any connected or supporting systems.
Cyber essentials
Yes
Cyber essentials plus
Yes
Other security certifications
No

Security governance

Named board-level person responsible for service security
Yes
Security governance certified
Yes
Security governance standards
  • CSA CCM version 3.0
  • ISO/IEC 27001
  • Other
Other security governance standards
PCI-DSS (Level 1)
Cyber Essentials Plus
Information security policies and processes
ParentPay operate an ISO 27001 certified Information Security Management System (ISMS) - this has been certified by a UKAS accredited certification body.

A dedicated security team of qualified specialists maintain, monitor and enforce technical and organisational security controls.

We are audited by independent specialist third parties at least four times per year.
ParentPay operate a comprehensive catalogue of security policies, processes and procedures; Including but not limited to:

Security Policy.
ISMS Manual.
Acceptable Use Policy.
Access Control and Onboarding-Offboarding.
Business Continuity Strategy.
Business Continuity Plans.
BYOD Policy.
Capacity Management Policy.
Change Control Process.
Clear Desk Policy.
Cryptography, Certificates and Key Management Policy.
Data Protection Policy.
Data Retention and Disposal Policy.
Development Process Standards and Practices.
Firewall & Router Configuration Strategy.
Incident Response Procedures.
Information Classification and Handling.
IT Decommission Process.
ParentPay Fraud and AML Strategy.
Password Policy.
Patch and Vulnerability Management Strategy.
Physical Security Policy.
Security within Project Management.
Remote Working and Mobile Device Policy.
Security Considerations for Key Decision Makers.
Social Media Policy.
Supplier and Third Party Management Policy.
System Build Standards.
IT Documented Operating Procedures.

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Configuration and change management approach
Full change control process is applied to the product and hosting infrastructure. This applies to all assets. Changes require CAB review and approval. Security considerations are specifically identified as a strict requirement.
Vulnerability management type
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Vulnerability management approach
Internal and external components are assessed by industry leading vulnerability scanners on a weekly basis. Additional cyber risk assessment tools monitor OSINT data feeds on an ongoing basis. PCI-DSS ASV scans take place every three months. Any and all findings are subject to risk assessment and suitable remediation through change control processes.
Critical and Security updates to be installed within one month of release.
All other available vendor updates to be installed within 3 months of release.
We actively participate in a threat sharing community and monitor special interest security groups continuously.
Protective monitoring type
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Protective monitoring approach
We operate network and host based intrusion detection systems. All infrastructure components and logging is supported by a SIEM platform, including User-Behaviour-Analytics (UBA) capabilities. Endpoint and back-office systems run DLP controls to help detect and prevent data loss events. External breach indicators are also independently monitored on an ongoing basis. Canary tokens and honeypot technology is also applied. We operate, train and regularly test a comprehensive Incident Response Programme - including forensics evidence collection capabilities. Security Incidents are responded to immediately following identification, by a dedicated security team.
Incident management type
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Incident management approach
Our detailed Incident Response Programme has developed a full array of specific response processes for particular events. We operate, train and regularly test the full process - including forensic evidence collection processes. Security Incidents are responded to immediately following identification, by a dedicated security team.
All employees are required to report any confirmed or suspected security incidents.
The security team can be contacted by customers, users or employees at any time via email or telephone.
Detailed incident reports are provided as necessary - including an executive summary, event timeline, investigative and containment steps, root cause analysis, remediation and lessons learned.

Secure development

Approach to secure software development best practice
Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)

Public sector networks

Connection to public sector networks
No

Social Value

Social Value

Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

Fighting climate change

Environmentally friendly solution, low carbon emissions, recycled decommissioned equipment. Offers are assessed on an individual basis and dependent on client's priorities and strategic objectives.

Tackling economic inequality

Offers are assessed on an individual basis and dependent on client's priorities and strategic objectives.

Equal opportunity

We are an equal opportunities employer. We support our clients in promoting digital skills. Offers are assessed on an individual basis and dependent on client's priorities and strategic objectives.

Wellbeing

Offers are assessed on an individual basis and dependent on client's priorities and strategic objectives.

Pricing

Price
£240 a unit a year
Discount for educational organisations
Yes
Free trial available
No

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at nicola.howard@parentpay.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.