Views & Opinion


The classroom impact of cashless payments Comment by Sarah Phillips, Managing Director of WisePay


While it is clear that moving to a cashless


system holds enormous benefits for school finance offices, administration staff and parents, the many ways it can help teachers and pupils day-to-day are often overlooked. Learning can improve and a harmonious environment can be encouraged simply by not having cash on school premises. Stealing lunch money is possibly the oldest


trick in the book when it comes to bullying. If children don’t have cash on them then this possibility is removed. Lack of money can also be a cause of bullying, but if every child is paying on a swipe card, their account balance will be secret, as will the amount of money they can spend daily. This also applies to Free School Meals. There remains a stigma about claiming a free meal – many families refuse it on grounds of pride, and sometimes pupils don’t claim it at school, preferring not to eat rather than let everyone know they qualify for the bursary. However, if pupils on Free School Meals use a cashless catering service, they simply queue for the tills like everybody else and swipe their card,


which registers that they are entitled for a free lunch. The process looks exactly the same as for pupils who have topped up their accounts with cash; it therefore becomes impossible to tell who has had a free school meal and anonymity is protected. This discreteness around money contributes to an environment where pupils are all seen as equal and can be a social leveller in the same way as a school uniform. Self-esteem improves amongst pupils and there is one less cause for conflict in school. Using a cashless catering service also


ensures that pupils are eating healthy lunches, as opposed to sneaking off to nearby shops to buy junk food and sweets. Lunch money also cannot be lost or forgotten, meaning a child should never have to go without lunch or have to borrow small change from their friends. It is a well known fact that being well-nourished and eating healthy lunches improves alertness, concentration and engagement in lessons. Implementing a cashless payment solution helps to ensure that pupils do not miss their


lunchtime meal, directly affecting their behaviour and achievements in the classroom. An online payment platform also allows


pupils to pay for school trips and equipment online, thereby reducing time sometimes wasted in lessons collecting cheques and permission slips, which the teacher then takes to the finance office. It also stops pupils from having to detour to the finance office and queue up outside – which can cut into valuable lesson time or the pupils’ breaks. All these small tasks can really eat into a school day and add an extra burden on everyone, but removing cash from the school can counter these problems and allow teachers and pupils to focus mainly on teaching and learning. The more money that schools can save


through streamlining their payment processes and administration departments, the more money can be freed up to invest in teacher CPD, innovative digital resources or replacing old technology, ultimately improving the learning experience for everyone.


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St Albans’ School German Students Awarded Runner-Up for the Second Time T


wo St Albans School students have received runner-up awards in the annual Oxford German Olympiad competition for the second time, after submitting


a short film to this year’s theme ‘Von Pop bis Poesie – Poetry and Music.’ The students and their teacher travelled to Oxford University to collect their


award, and listened to Michael Morpurgo, the award winning author and speaker at the event, who extended his congratulations. The competition, open to all German language students aged 9-18, is run by


the Oxford German Network, an initiative by the University of Oxford’s German department within the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages which seeks to induce cross-cultural cooperation involving schools, cultural organisations, businesses and policy-makers. William Drake and Gustav Brincat, both year ten students, worked together


to create, produce, direct and act in their own film version of Goethe’s poem, Der Zauberlehrling (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice). Gustav was also ‘Highly Commended’ for his entry to the ‘Networking in


German’ competition, after submitting a proposal for an activity that would provide an enjoyable and effective German learning experience. Gabriele Renz, Modern Foreign Languages Teacher at St Albans School, says


the competition provides support and inspiration to both teachers and students learning German in the UK: “It establishes great links with other schools, and success places St Albans amongst the leading places to learn German. “The fact William and Gustav have twice achieved runner-up awards is


testament to the quality of our students,” she continues, “and their fantastic short film is well-deserved of recognition.” Gabriele says that St Albans is bucking the general trend in offering German


as a modern language choice: “It’s fast growing into a mainstream subject, and success in competitions like this will help to further drive it forwards,” she concludes.


uwww.st-albans.herts.sch.uk July 2015 www.education-today.co.uk 19


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