Questions and comments from PTA Hangout

Help needed please ! What do you do to encourage new volunteers ? How do you welcome the new reception parents and try to recruit them ? Do you have class representatives , and what is their role ?

We have resources for recruiting parents on our website , including a welcome booklet for new parents and a poster template to tell your parents why your PTA matters . We ' ll also have guidance in our Be School Ready 2025 printed guide ... we ' ll let you know when you can order those !

We have a group member in our PTA who consistently creates problems . This person insists on imposing their own views , becomes argumentative , and calls out those who disagree . The constant conflict is causing a rift and several members are considering leaving , including myself . My mental health is suffering because of this individual . What should we do ?

As this member is not on the elected committee they do not have a vote on PTA decisions . You can simply exclude them from committee discussions . If you ' re concerned about their continued disruption , you may wish to adopt a code of conduct and complaints procedure , both of which can be found on our website . If the behaviour continues , your constitution may allow for them to be removed as a member , which prevents them from attending any PTA meetings .

I have a question about booking forms for external stall holders – I have downloaded the Parentkind declarations , but I also want to gather some more information and put info about fees , cancellations etc . on there too . Can I just create one form with all the information from the Parentkind ones , plus my extra bits ? I want to create one form for ease .

As long as the information on the declaration form is captured , you can do this however you like , including adding your own questions / information .

Reminder !

Have you set the date for your AGM yet ?

Are you making the most of your membership ?

Did you know that as part of your Parentkind membership , you can arrange a 30-minute appointment with one of our friendly Community Advisers via our online booking system ? That way you can schedule a phone or video call at a time that suits you and get the help you need . Easy peasy !

There are four query categories :

Governance and running your PTA :

Everything from decision making , money handling and policies , to how to write a risk assessment . This category is great for any questions you may have about the day-to-day management of your PTA .

Charity registration and constitution : This is exactly what it says on the tin . This category covers all aspects of the Charity Commission registration process and annual returns , along with any and all constitution queries .

Managing conflict : While this is not a mediation service , you can choose this category to talk through any conflicts you have to try and find a way forward . Quite often these calls result in a group video call to ensure everyone involved is on the same page .

New to Parentkind : This category covers the ins and outs of what membership involves . You can also choose this category if you ’ re starting a PTA from scratch or want to ensure any aspects of governance are correct .

Calls can be booked via Your PTA Expert on our website : parentkind . org / your pta-expert / book-dedicated-support

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