From the socials
Your burning questions and comments from PTA Hangout
We have a large annual school event run by some parents who are not formally part of the PTA. We’ re grateful as the core team have a heavy workload the rest of the year and it ' s one less thing on our plates, but it’ s not run as professionally as we would like. We have tried to work collaboratively with the parents and flagged risks, but they see us as overly worried and are not interested in suggestions on how to improve. Could we suggest they purchase standalone insurance for the event rather than run it in our name?
This wouldn ' t be seen as an event run by your PTA and therefore the parents are putting themselves at risk. Any events that the PTA runs and are responsible for need to have risk assessments, and committee members need to help run the event. A ' sub-committee ' could be a way forward, but you would need to have a member of your committee on the sub-committee to report back. You can find out more information on our health and safety page on Your PTA Expert.
Reminder!
Make the most of your school’ s induction days
Your school will likely be holding induction or welcome days for children joining this coming September, and it’ s a great opportunity to meet their parents. Whether it’ s a teddy bears ' picnic, a pre-loved uniform sale or a tour of the school, introduce your PTA and let them know the amazing work your committee does – you never know, you could inspire a few new volunteers!
Looking for a bit of help with registering as a charity. We’ ve been asked for a governing document – can we use our constitution? Do we get told everything we need to do regarding sending in bank accounts, etc.? Your constitution is your governing document. We have a comprehensive guide on our website on how to register as a charity, but if you have any other questions, don’ t hesitate to get in touch with our Community Advisers.
Raffle question... under what circumstances can you run a raffle where tickets are sold over a matter of weeks before doing a draw on the last day of term using cloakroom-style tickets? We believed that we have to hold a small society licence( we do) and use proper printed tickets with the key info on. However, another local PTA have said that because they won’ t earn over a certain amount, they can use cloakroom-style raffle tickets. What’ s the correct answer?
Cloakroom tickets can only be used if the tickets are sold during the same event as the draw – but you should always check with your local authority. A compilation of what ' s needed for different types of lotteries can be found on the licences page on Your PTA Expert.
Photography: uk. rubiesmasquerade. com, iStock. com / SolStock. Illustrations: Freepik. com
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