Running a PTA

Your end-of-year checklist

Getting your admin done and your shed tidy at the end of the summer term will make things easier when September comes around

  • Review activity: With PTAs feeling the financial pinch, it’s particularly important to take the time to reflect on your endeavours. Weigh up the profits versus the amount of effort involved. What might you do differently next time?
  • Request feedback: If you haven’t already asked volunteers, committee members and supporters to give feedback, now’s the time. Download the knowledge capsule template and seek constructive criticism.
  • Celebrate successes: Create a PTA achievement poster to be printed and pinned on a noticeboard, as well as shared online. Highlight how much you raised and what you bought for the school. Demonstrate the positive emotional impact your activities had on the community.
  • Say thank you: Take time to write thank-you notes to volunteers, supporters and sponsors. Organise a get-together or send out tokens of appreciation to core members (ensuring these don’t come out of PTA funds).
  • Write welcome packs: Prepare a PTA welcome pack to hand out to new starters in September.
  • Organise paperwork: Make sure all your key paperwork and policies are kept securely in one place. This includes your constitution, accounts, meeting minutes, insurance policy, charity registration details, risk assessments and licences.
  • Check data and details: To comply with GDPR, it’s essential to review the data you hold about committee members, volunteers, local businesses and other supporters. Make sure you know where details are stored, and when to delete them.
  • Assess your accounting: It’s best practice to have two authorised signatories on cheques and Direct Debits, so make sure you know who yours are. Check whether you need an independent annual audit.
  • Tidy your stores: Make sure any equipment remains in good order. Deal with anything that needs repairing or replacing, and if anything is broken, check to see if it’s still under guarantee. Ask the school if they can organise an annual PAT test for your electrical equipment. Check use-by dates on everything.
  • Start succession planning: Anticipate which committee members might step down this year and start warming up new people to take over. Ask departing members to write handover notes for their successors. Encourage members to invite guests to PTA meetings. If those with qualifications or certificates are leaving, consider sending others on appropriate online courses, such as first aid or food safety and hygiene.
  • Put dates in the diary: Publish dates for any planned events as soon as you can. Make a note of subscription and licence renewal dates and accounting requirements.
  • Check in with sponsors: Business partnerships are about working together. Contact your sponsors to thank them and give them a heads up about plans for next year. Ask if there are any ways you can support one another.
  • Discuss plans: If you can pin the head teacher down, meet with them to discuss thoughts about the school’s needs in the coming academic year. How can the PTA can best support the school and what are the priorities?

Finally, congratulate yourselves on the money – and the smiles – you’ve raised during the year. You’re amazing!

 

See also