Parental payments are awarded if it is not possible or appropriate to provide a seat on a vehicle. There are two types of payments - monthly or annual - and parents submit their claim for payment online via our Parental Payment section.
Annual payments are claimed in December & January each year. Monthly claims are submitted for the month prior at the start of the next month.
Schools are required to verify pupils’ attendance for the monthly claims. Once a claim is submitted schools receive an email requesting verification of the days parents have stated their child attended school.
Payment is not made until the school verifies the claim. Prompt verification is important if parents are to receive payments that same month. We would ask that your nominated staff member checks your mailbox daily during the portal opening dates and a final check on the day after the closing date to ensure all attendance verification emails are processed.
If schools reject the claim parents are advised to address any discrepancy with the school and resubmit their claim the following month.
The parent portal opens at 10am on the 1st of each month and closes roughly 8-10 days afterwards. Further information on the closing dates are available can be found within our Parental Payment section.
If you have any queries or are new to this online process, please contact us at transport.parentalpayment@eani.org.uk.
FAQs
What email address do we use to send verification emails to schools?
The verification email for each claim will be sent to the school email address that the EA holds for your school. This is usually the info@ email address.
Please use the Search Schools facility that is available to check what contact details we hold for your school. If you need to request a change please email eawebteam@eani.org.uk
We appreciate that your info@ accounts are very busy, however we do ask that you routinely do an inbox search for these.
Is there a specific subject line that I can search for?
Yes, the subject line is as follows:
Pupil name: ATTENDANCE VERIFICATION REQUIRED FOR EA PARENTAL PAYMENT
How many emails will we receive each month?
One email is generated per child, per claim. Therefore, if you have 10 pupils in receipt of this payment you will receive 10 emails.
Parents can only claim retrospectively, for up to 3 months. Emails will come through every month a claim is submitted requiring verification of the dates attended. This will include July and August for summer schemes, if applicable.
Is there a timescale for verifying claims?
We require verification to be completed within 5 working days for payments to be processed in the same month. Payment cannot progress without schools’ verification and if there is a delay in turnaround, it may mean that the parent will not receive payment until the following month.
We would ask that verification is completed as soon as possible.
What does the email say?
The email will detail the pupil name, DOB and the days that the Parent has marked as attended. There are then 2 options:
- Option 1 Attendance verified
- Option 2 Attendance NOT verified
What happens if we select ‘Attendance NOT verified’?
If NOT verified, the Parent is advised that they may contact yourselves for clarification of dates. A parent must re-submit their claim if the school selects this option.
What happens if a parent misses a deadline to submit their monthly claims?
Parents should submit their claims each month. If they miss the deadline, they can submit a claim for multiple month when the parent portal re-opens the following month. The EA will not however make payment for claims dating back more than 3 months.