The Parent Teacher Association is a group of like minded people whose primary aim is to raise funds for the school. These funds go towards "extras" that cannot be funded directly by the school and also towards much needed equipment that requires our additional input.
Our second aim is more of a social one. We aim to make our events as inclusive as possible ensuring that they attract attention from across the community. There is also a very social aspect to being a member or helper of the PTA. We are always looking to hear from people who would be willing to help out in any way and it is an ideal way of meeting new people who have the best interests of the school and their children at heart
If you could spare some time or would like to know more about us then we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with us (Click here for details).
We are very fortunate at our school to have a PTA that is and has been such an integral part of the school community for many years. In its time the PTA has raised thousands of pounds, which have been spent on improving equipment and resources to enhance our children’s education and the facilities in school in general.
But our PTA is about much, much more than just fundraising. The PTA exists to provide closer links between home and school, and it is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school, working towards a common goal. It is fun too - just ask any of the PTA committee members or helpers. Obviously as in any organisation, there are times when it is more ‘challenging’, but with the continued support of parents and staff, our PTA has always succeeded in its efforts.
All parents and members of the school community can get involved if they want to, even if they only have a small amount of time available, and all parents are automatically members of the Association when their children join our school.
The PTA is extremely conscious of the ethos and morals of our school, and we try very hard when organising and planning events to respect this. Not all of our events are run as fundraisers. Our children’s discos and fun afternoons are run with the aim of giving the children a good time and as a way of thanking families for their continued support for the PTA.
It is a legal requirement that organisations such as ours, with an annual income in excess of £5,000 register with the Charity Commission.
As a Charity we must abide by Charity Commission rules and regulations and we are bound by a constitution. Our constitution sets out rules about how we operate as a PTA and how we conduct ourselves.
Links with Local Business
We have, over time, developed strong links with the local community and are always well supported by both residents and businesses, for which we are very grateful. Many of our local shops are very generous in their donations of raffle prizes etc, and some have taken part in our Summer Fairs.
Our PTA committee consists of 3 Officers (Chair, Treasurer and Secretary). We also have between 15 and 20 other committee members to make up the full committee.
The Committee meet on a regular basis usually once a term, with smaller working groups meeting as necessary to organise larger more complicated events.
Our Annual General Meeting is held in October and this is an opportunity for all parents to come along and hear in more detail about events run, funds raised and how the money has been spent. It is also the occasion when we elect our new committee and class representatives.
Our PTA is a member of the NCPTA, which is the national charity that advances education and supports PTAs, throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our association is one of 13000 in current membership of the NCPTA. We pay an annual membership fee to the NCPTA which gives us lots of member benefits including subscription linked insurance cover, support and advice on PTA and fundraising matters, opportunities to meet with other PTAs to discuss and share experiences, regular newsletters and the PTA magazine, both of which are displayed on the PTA notice board, a special banking package to help us make the most of our funds, and an extensive list of PTA information and resources. In addition, we have a valuable resource at our fingertips – www.ncpta.org.uk
www.ncpta.org.uk is also a valuable resource to you as parents, with signposts to useful, relevant web-sites on subjects such as bullying, school funding, special educational needs, homework, and much much more.
Like most PTAs, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Some of our most popular events are the annual village Fair, our now infamous burns night, quiz nights, an annual fun run and a new event this year, ‘St George’s night. We also hold two children’s disco’s a year and other fun event’s within school time.
We also run a 100 club which holds a draw once a month with cash prizes and a Christmas draw with bonus cash prizes. The contribution for this is £12 per year and details of joining can be found in your welcome pack, any proceeds made from this club also go towards our projects. (entry form in pack)
So you can see there is always something going on. We always try and respond to the children’s requests for events and it is truly the icing on the cake to see them having fun at the events or enjoying using a piece of new equipment that the PTA has donated.
We are fortunate however to have other opportunities open to us to raise money. Donations are extremely important. These can be time, money, items for sale, donations for raffles or offers of services and skills.
Once money is raised from events the funds are banked straight away. It is at our PTA Committee Meetings, that the decisions on how to spend the money are agreed.
Usually, Mrs Lambert (our Head teacher) will have a ‘shopping list’ of items that the school would like to purchase. Sometimes this will be as a result of the children asking for something, such as the play equipment in the main playground. At other times it will be for resources to improve a particular area of the curriculum or school environment. Previous committee funds have contributed to interactive white boards for all classrooms, computers for the ICT area and extensively developed the school library resources. In the main the PTA funds are for the ‘extras’ not provided by the school budget, that make our children’s learning experiences so much more fulfilling and exciting.
PTA funds are not generally spent on improving the fabric of the school building as this is the responsibility of the school Governing Body. Our Constitution commits the PTA to spending money on things that will benefit the children directly (full constitution is included in welcome pack).
We always endeavour to spend our funds in ways that will benefit all our children across all areas of the school and curriculum. Many of the resources purchased have a direct link to the School Improvement Plan.
The money we raise is usually spent fairly quickly. That way, you can be sure that in supporting our school, your child/ren will feel the benefit, along with everybody else.
Of course there have been times when we have been fundraising for a large project. We are currently saving to develop a school garden area and nature trail. We are purchasing a new school stage at a cost of £3800. However, whilst saving for these, we have still managed to find funds for smaller items, such as the reception class play area, thanks to the generous and continued support of our parents.
The PTA has ongoing commitments every year: We supply book bags for new pupils, support Christmas productions, prizes for competitions, end of term parties and presents for all year six leavers.
We also administer the sale of school uniforms and we intend to hold bi-annual nearly new sale’s of second hand uniforms starting at the village fair in September.
All PTA letters are sent home in your child’s book bag. The letters include information on forthcoming events and dates plus requests for assistance, when we are planning large events. Following a PTA event, we always write to let you know how much was raised, and if we can, we tell you what the money will be spent on.
PTA letters and posters for forthcoming events are posted on the school notice boards which is situated by the school gates and also on the entrance to the small playground.
We also endeavour to produce a PTA newsletter every other term to keep parents up to date with all activities and we have a website which contains information on events, funds raised and contact details. www.ahspta.co.uk
There are lots of ways you can help and support your child through the PTA.
Offering to help before events or at other times during the year is so valuable – it really is a case of ‘many hands make light work’. It doesn’t matter if you can’t help on a regular basis, or even if you can’t come into school. We really couldn’t achieve what we do without the unseen ‘army of help’ that exists in school.
You can of course if you feel able, volunteer to be a Class Rep or Committee Member. Or you can simply support the AGM and give us your ideas for fundraising events – this is also the time to ask questions or voice your opinion.
You can help by letting us know if you have any contacts or skills we could use – everything is potentially valuable to us.