Running your PTA

What makes an effective co-role?

• Strong, regular communication

• Ability to delegate and pick up tasks

• Complementary skillsets

Why would I need a co-role?

• If you have a larger PTA with a lot of activity to monitor: Having co-roles can help stop lone volunteers from feeling overwhelmed and improve wellbeing

• If there are volunteers with complementary skillsets and knowledge: For example, one Co-Treasurer may be more skilled at preparing and presenting reports, while the other is more familiar with using accounting tools and software

• If PTA committee members have conflicting schedules: For example, if one Co-Chair has childcare commitments which means they can’ t attend a committee meeting, the other Co-Chair can lead it in their place

In this issue, we’ re looking at how teamwork makes the dream work with co-roles

• If it’ s more comfortable: Some volunteers might feel unsure about taking an officer role on their own, so sharing the role with someone else will help them build their confidence and skills

Images: istock. com / BeyondImages

Committee officers, such as Chairs, Treasurers and Secretaries play a vital role in PTAs. But these roles don ' t have to be the sole responsibility of one person – committees can help share the load by having a pair of Co-Chairs, Co-Treasurers or Co-Secretaries.

What does a co-role do?

Whether an officer role is filled by one volunteer or two, the responsibilities are mostly the same. Co-Chairs, Co-Treasurers and Co-Secretaries will do the same tasks any Chair, Treasurer or Secretary would do on their own. The main difference is that the workload is shared evenly between the two volunteers.

In committee meetings, both co-role volunteers have a vote each – except for Co-Chairs. For Co-Chairs, one volunteer should be agreed as Chair for each meeting. They will hold the extra deciding vote in the event of a tie.

Want a refresher on everything Chairs, Treasurers and Secretaries do? Take a look at our downloadable PTA role cards for all the key information and responsibilities:

Turn the page to read how Louisa Alcock and Clare Railton stay in sync as Co-Chairs.

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