Booking and Payments

School Gateway

Bookings should be made using the School Gateway system.  The quickest and easiest way to access School Gateway is through the mobile application.  The set-up process is simple and will take no more than a couple of minutes. Please ensure mobile data is switched on for your phone and for the School Gateway app to allow set up and notifications.

• Search for “School Gateway” in the Apple App Store/Google Play 
• Install the app and if you are asked then say yes to “Allow Push Notifications”
• When you launch School Gateway for the first time, please select ‘New User’ and enter the email address and mobile telephone number you have registered with the school
• The system will send a PIN code to your phone; please enter this PIN code and the app will be activated for you

School Gateway can also be access via a web browser at https://schoolcomms.com/.  If you are having any trouble accessing Gateway, please call the school office where a member of staff will be happy to help.

How to Pay

Payments must be made online using the Gateway app.  Payments can be made by either bank transfer or by entering your card details.  Once you have entered your details, they will be saved in the system making online payment quick and easy.  

Payment will be required in advance and you will be prompted to pay for sessions as and when you make a booking in the Gateway app (see below).  If you do not proceed to payment when prompted by the app, your booking will not be confirmed and your child will not be added to the OOSC register for that session.  If your account is in a negative balance, you will not be able to make a booking until the outstanding balance is paid. If your account is in credit, School Gateway will allow you to make a booking and deduct the cost of your chosen sessions from your balance.

How to Book

To make a booking, just follow these simple steps:

• Open the School Gateway app or web browser
• Go to the home screen
• Select your chosen club e.g. ‘OOSC Early Years Breakfast Club’
• Select ‘Make a Booking’
• Select the day(s) you would like your child to attend the club and click ‘Book’
• Follow the instructions to confirm your order and pay online

If you have siblings attending the club, you will need to book and pay for each separately.  'Early Years' club applies to children in Nursery to Year 1 and 'Upper School' is for children in Year 2 to Year 6.  

Booking is available up to two days before the club session.  If you need to make a last minute booking after this deadline, please email oosc@kingedward.org.  Booking by phone will not be accepted at any time.  

After you have booked a session, you can see the days you have chosen for your child to attend the club in the Gateway app.  To do this, go to the club and ‘View Bookings’.

As sessions must be paid for at the booking stage, you cannot make an ongoing / automatically recurring booking.  You can only book as far in advance as your credit will allow. You should therefore check and make your bookings regularly in the app or online.

Your Balance on School Gateway

Each OOSC session is shown separately in School Gateway.  If your child attends more than one type of session (e.g. Breakfast Club and After School Club), you will need to book and pay separately for these sessions.  This means that you will have a separate balance for Breakfast Club and After School Club.  

Your current balance for each club and each child is always available for you to view in the app.  To do this, go to the club and ‘View Transactions’.  

Childcare Vouchers

If you pay by childcare vouchers, you will still need to book sessions within the app and will only be able to book where you are in credit.  Please ensure that your voucher payments are sufficient to cover any bookings you wish to make. Your voucher payments will be received by school and allocated to your School Gateway account for you based on your usual usage of the club. 

Cancellations

You are not able to cancel a booking within the app.  To cancel a booking, please email oosc@kingedward.org.

If you cancel giving five working days notice, the full session fee will be refunded onto your School Gateway account.  This credit can then be used when you make your next booking. If less than five working days notice are given, you will still be charged the full cost of the session.  

How to Book and Pay for Holiday Club

You should book Holiday Club in the app as described above.  Just go to 'OOSC Holiday Club' and select your chosen sessions to book and pay.  

Trip days will be shown on the activity planning sheet for each Holiday.  There will be an additional cost for each trip which should be paid in cash to one of our Childcare Leads on the day of the trip.  

The deadline for Holiday Club will be seven nights before each session.  This is to allow staffing to be planned for the duration of the club. If you need to make a last minute booking, please call the club on 0191 2708889.  We will ask you to confirm any bookings made by phone with an email to oosc@kingedward.org.  The booking will then be added to your Gateway account.  

Please be aware that spaces for Holiday Club and trip days are limited due to staffing ratios.  If a day is fully booked, it will no longer show in the app.