Aberdeenshire Council first local authority to use myaccount to let parents pay for school lunches online

Aberdeenshire Council has become the first Scottish local authority to use a government-funded authentication system to let parents pay for school lunches online.

Parents of children attending schools throughout the local authority can now use the Improvement Service’s myaccount system to pay electronically via credit or debit card.

The system was launched in all of Aberdeenshire’s seventeen academies last December and is currently being rolled out across the council’s full primary school estate.

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Full rollout is expected by the middle of June, with the potential to pay for school trips and other school expenses also planned as part of future expansion.

Developed and operated by the Improvement Service on behalf of public service organisations and funded by the Scottish Government, myaccount provides a single set of sign-in details to access a range of public services online.

The system, which was launched in April 2014, has already been adopted by the likes of City of Edinburgh Council as well as NHS Scotland and is also integrated with the system used to manage national entitlement cards for concessionary travel. 

Nicola Graham, Aberdeenshire Council’s head of IT, said: “This exciting development enables us to improve the service we offer to local parents of children attending Aberdeenshire’s schools, helping them pay online using their own laptop, tablet or smartphone in an easy and secure way.

“Across Aberdeenshire, internet access and usage is increasing. With more people using mobile telephones than landlines and with a massive upturn in smartphone sales, there is a clear and growing demand for more public services to be made available on the move - anywhere and at any time.

“Aberdeenshire Council is firmly committed towards addressing this demand, planning to expand the range of online services throughout 2016 and beyond.”

Parents or guardians wishing to use the online schools payment system register or sign in through an online portal, add in details supplied by the council to establish the link to their child or children, and then add funds electronically via their debit or credit card.

The money automatically goes to the school’s bank account while parents can also check balances and transactions online. Hundreds of parents have signed up to the service since the December launch, according to the Improvement Service.

Head of business development, Martin Brown, added: “Aberdeenshire Council is the first council in Scotland to introduce online school payments using myaccount to authenticate users.

“The council has placed itself ahead of the field, with several councils across Scotland having begun following similar approaches building on Aberdeenshire’s firm lead.”