Biometrics

All Hallows Catholic College is committed to keeping parents and carers informed about their child’s progress. One key tool is our Parental Gateway.

The Parental Gateway offers access to online reports, in depth information on your child's attendance, performance in College, their timetable and any exam information available. Parents are also able to book appointments with their child’s teachers on Parental Consultation evenings.

We now publish all reports online and printed copies will only be produced for those parents and carers who will have opted into the service. There will be details on this closer to the time.

Parents and Carers are supplied with a user name and password at the beginning of September. To access the gateway, simply go to the All Hallows website: www.allhallows.org.uk, click For parents and choose Parental Gateway. You will then be asked to log in with your username and password supplied in the letter sent home.

If you require any support while using the Parental Gateway, you can contact us by sending a e-mail to parental.gateway@allhallows.org.uk and a member of our team will be happy to help. You may also phone the College who will direct your enquiry to the relevant person.

We are proud to say that All Hallows Catholic College is cashless! We

have teamed up with Innovate, our catering partners and ParentPay, to create a cashless restaurant. Students and staff use either their biometric print or a 6-digit PIN number to purchase meals in the restaurant. This is convenient, safe and fast, helping us to make sure that all students can make the most of their breaks, instead of spending time queuing. Parents/Carers will top up their child’s ParentPay account through the ParentPay website. The system is very user friendly and payments sent online are received in College instantly. We also use the ParentPay website for trip payments. Students can purchase a meal which suits their individual requirements. Portions are individually priced and a meal deal may be purchased for £2.35. Students may bring a packed lunch and dining facilities are made available for them. All Year 7 to 11 students stay on the College site, without exception, at lunchtimes.

The College uses biometrics for its ‘Follow Me Printing’ system and for cashless payments in the Café.

Each child will be registered with your consent. If you do not consent to your child’s biometric data being taken, they will be issued with a PIN which they can use to pay. The system uses an image of the fingerprint to create a mathematical algorithm and then discards the fingerprint. Only the numbers remain and these cannot be reinterpreted back into the fingerprint.

Students and staff use their biometric print or PIN number to collect their printing from any of the printers located around the College. It is linked to their computer account and allows them to print anywhere and at any time in the College. We use this system to help monitor and reduce waste printing in the College.

If your child is entitled to a free meal, their entitlement will automatically transfer to this College. Their ParentPay account will be topped up automatically each day with the FSM entitlement £2.35 at present. Using biometrics and PINs means that there is greater anonymity for free school meal students as they ‘pay’ for their meals in exactly the same way as everybody else. There is a direct link to apply for free meals on the College website. Go to: Parent Information > College Meals > Free School Meals.

All Year 7 parents will have received a letter in the post with their login details, to enable them to make payments. We advise that you log on and activate your account, so you are comfortable with the system before your child starts College.