members who aren’ t listed as Trustees, and there shouldn’ t be any Trustees who aren’ t committee members – but not everyone is eligible to be a Trustee. It ' s important to make potential committee members aware that they can’ t be elected if they: |
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• Are disqualified as a company director
• Have an unspent conviction for an offence involving dishonesty or deception( such as fraud)
• Are an undischarged bankrupt( or subject to sequestration in Scotland), or have a current composition or arrangement, including an individual voluntary arrangement( IVA), with your creditors
• Have been removed as a Trustee of any charity by the Commission( or the court) because of misconduct or mismanagement
• Are on the sex offenders’ register
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Ordinary Committee Members
Ordinary Committee Members are voted onto the committee and are just as responsible for the control of the association, its property and its funds as the Officers, only without having the title of Chair, Treasurer or Secretary. They have the same voting rights in committee meetings. If the PTA is a registered charity, they’ re also Trustees and can be signatories on its bank account. Ordinary Committee Members can be given specific tasks or titles to support the Officer roles, such as Grants Officer, Preloved Uniform Coordinator or Social Media Manager. They can help new parents get involved in school life or recruit existing parents to volunteer at events, maybe as a class representative.
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Volunteers
As well as the elected committee, PTAs tend to have a list of volunteers who support them on a regular basis. They aren ' t able to vote, but it ' s a nice way to get introduced to a PTA and many volunteers go on to become Officers.
Trustees
If the PTA is a registered charity, all elected committee members automatically become Trustees of the charity. This means they have a legal duty to ensure the charity acts lawfully and is managed properly. While each Trustee has an individual legal duty, all decisions should be made collectively by all committee members. No one individual should take sole responsibility for a committee decision or activity. There shouldn’ t be any committee
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For more information on PTA governance, head to our website: go. parentkind. org / governance
Got a specific question? Get in touch with our knowledgeable Community Team by calling 0300 123 5460 or emailing info @ parentkind. org – you can also book time to speak with them via the ' Contact us’ page on our website.
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Illustration: shutterstock. com / Gwens Graphic Studio. Photography: iStock. com / SDI Productions |
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PARENTKIND. ORG AUTUMN / WINTER 2025 |