ParentPay successfully gains ISO 9001 and ISO 27001
Introduction
ParentPay began as a modest EdTech startup determined to make school life simple. Their mission: to kickstart the cashless revolution in schools. It all started in 2002, when a working parent and former teacher sought to help her school make life easier for parents. The solution? The UK’s first school online payments system. And with that, ParentPay was born. Since that time, they’ve continued to champion progress and innovation in schools. And, with the cashless revolution well underway, they set themselves a new challenge: to bridge the communication gap, bringing schools, students, and parents together. Today, they’re proud to have helped over 11,000 schools across the UK streamline their operations and improve their parental engagement.
Why did ParentPay initially decide to invest in ISO?
“For a company providing software and services within the education sector and handling sensitive information including information related to children, achieving ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certifications is a powerful testament to our commitment to information security and quality.
Having a dedicated security function, we were already operating a mature ISMS in line with the standard, we were essentially doing all the things we needed do, so the next step of formal certification was an easy business decision.
Being certified provides assurance to our customers and other stakeholders that we have strong and well established controls in place to securely and consistently deliver high-quality solutions that meet and exceed the needs of our users, ensuring reliability, continuous improvement, and excellence in service. These certifications not only build trust but also reinforce our position as a leader in providing secure, high-quality software to the education sector.
ParentPay operate our management system in the full spirit in which the standards intend – as a result, we enjoy material reduction in business risk; we ultimately save the organisation time and money, and provide a better service and product – certification means that our efforts are externally and independently verified.
Consolidating certifications across all entities within the Group allows for greater consistency and efficiency, ensuring that all areas of the business meet the same high standards, while streamlining compliance efforts.”
The Process
“Properly coordinating ISO standards across a larger organisation such as ParentPay Group is no easy task. When we found ourselves pushed for time due to new projects, competing priorities, and long term staff absence, we considered our options – hiring or training more staff? Cutting corners? Reducing scope? – none were comfortable options. That was until we were introduced to Compliant.
Compliant help to bolster and guide the team, with expert knowledge and experience – they serve as the most cost effective approach at keeping our security and quality programmes up to date and in check. Compliant promised to work in line with our people and processes and assured us the utmost flexibility in fitting their service around our business and it’s specific needs and challenges. This is exactly what was delivered. The team at Compliant were extremely responsive and organised throughout the entire process of supporting us with the consolidation of our certifications.
What we really loved about working with Compliant was that their approach was aligned with ours, as we focused on extracting real value from the process, rather than merely treating it as tick-box exercise. Together, we implemented meaningful improvements to drive positive, long-term change and enhance our overall operations.
We got so much value from this process that we chose to continue working with Compliant for ongoing support with our ISO compliance. They provide a welcome safety net and are excellent backup and overflow when the team need support.”
The Outcome
“Working with Compliant was an excellent experience. They provided a great deal of reassurance throughout the entire certification process. The team are friendly, highly efficient, and always responsive to our needs no matter how complex. We particularly appreciated how organised and well-structured the documentation was, ensuring the process ran smoothly and was completed on time.
Overall, their professionalism and support made the journey seamless and stress-free. I would highly recommend Compliant. They provide expert guidance and are an invaluable ally throughout the entire certification process and beyond.”