Why do we have a PTA?

We are fortunate at our school to have a PTA that is and has been an integral part of the school community for many years, raising thousands of pounds, which has been spent on equipment and resources to enhance our children’s education experience and the school’s facilities. Our PTA is about much more than simply 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 Committee members or PTA helpers.

All parents and members of the school community are encouraged to get involved, even if they only have a small amount of time available. All families are automatically members of the Dunnington School PTA when your child joins our school.

The PTA is extremely conscious of the ethos and diversity of our school, and we try very hard when organising and planning events to respect this. Not all of our events are run specifically as fundraisers; sometimes it’s more about the children getting something fun out of it.

Role of the Committee

Our PTA committee consists of three Officers: Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. We also have between 5 and 10 ordinary committee members to make up the full committee.  The Committee meet on a regular basis usually once or twice a term, with smaller working groups meeting as necessary when we are planning larger events.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Our Annual General Meeting is held at the beginning of the academic year and provides an opportunity for all parents to come along and hear in more detail about the work of the PTA, the events we have run, the funds we have raised and how the money has been spent. It is also the occasion when we elect our new committee members.

How we raise money

Like most PTAs, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Some of our most popular events are:

• Christmas and Summer Fairs
• School Disco’s
• Christmas card designs
• Filming of School performances
• Pamper Night
• Movie Nights

So you can see there is always something going on. We always try and respond to the children’s requests; it is great to see them having fun at the events or enjoying using a piece of new equipment that the PTA has donated. Last year we raised £8,815!  We raise money in other ways too. Donations from parents are extremely important. You can donate time, money, items for sale, raffle prizes, or offers of services and skills.

Important information needed from you

As some of the events we run include refreshments for the children it is very important that we know of any allergies that your child may have. We always try to include every child by buying alternatives such as gluten free crisps (school discos), gelatine free sweets (tuck shops at school discos) etc. Please send an email to [email protected] with any allergy details we should know about.

Company matched giving

As our PTA is a registered charity, we are able to raise money through company matched giving schemes.
Company matched giving is very simple. Companies or businesses pledge to donate to a charity such as ourselves an amount of money relating to the amount that an employee(s) donates or fundraises for us.
We have been helped enormously in the past by this type of donation, and there are several benefits to both ourselves and the company involved:-

• the company benefits from having charitable donations written off against taxable profits
• the company can endeavour to get publicity for their giving
• our PTA benefits from receiving perhaps double what we have raised at an event

If you think that your employer has a matched giving scheme already in operation, or if you would like some more information about charity matched giving or setting up a scheme in your workplace, please talk to one of the PTA committee members, or ask in the school office.

How we spend the money we raise

Following a fundraising event the money is banked straight away. It is at our PTA Committee meetings, that the decisions on how the money should be spent is agreed. Usually, the headtacher will have a ‘wish list’ of items that the school would like the PTA to consider funding. Sometimes this will be as a result of the children asking for something, such as new reading books. At other times it will be for resources to improve a particular area of the curriculum or school environment (such as playground markings). The PTA funds are spent on the ‘extras’ that are not provided by the school’s budget, thus making our children’s learning experiences so much more fulfilling and exciting.  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.

How we get information to you

All PTA letters are sent via the Platform Parent Pay Emails, usually with the Weekly Newsletters (please sign up to Parent Pay even if you don’t need to pay for school meals – you will only get emails from the school if you have signed up). The letters include information on forthcoming events and dates plus requests for assistance, when we are planning large events.

How you can get involved

There are lots of ways you can help and support your child through the PTA. Offering to help with events or at other times during the year is so valuable. It doesn’t matter if you can’t help on a regular basis, or even if you cannot come into school. There are always jobs that can be done from home if you have half an hour to spare e.g. wrapping gifts, preparing raffle tickets etc. We really couldn’t achieve what we do without the behind the scenes help that we receive. If you would like to be more involved and are happy for us to contact you on an adhoc basis then please send an email to [email protected] with your details. You can help by letting us know if you have any contacts or skills we could use, everything is potentially valuable to us.

Thank you for taking the time to read this information; we hope you now know a little more about your Parent Teacher Association. On behalf of all the pupils we would like to thank you for your very valuable support which enriches their learning experience and makes their time in school so enjoyable.The PTA Committee