Information for New Parents

A very warm welcome to our PTFA. We realise it can be strange and a little nerve-wracking joining a school, and there always seem to be so many questions to ask! This page aims to set out all the information you will need about our Parent Teachers and Friends Association which is a big part of school life. If after having read it you have any questions, please do get in touch with one of the committee members, ask via your class teacher, or at the school office.

Why do we have a PTFA?

The PTFA has been an integral part of the school community for over a decade. We have raised many thousands of pounds, which have been spent on improving equipment and resources to enhance our children’s education and the facilities in school in general. But it is much more than just fund-raising. The PTFA exists to provide closer links between parents and the school, and is an excellent opportunity to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school. It’s also fun!  

We would like to encourage any parents and members of the school community to get involved, even if they only have a small amount of time available, and all parents are automatically members of the Association when they join our school. The PTFA is extremely conscious of the ethos and morals of our school, and we try hard to respect these when organising and planning events. Not all of our events are run as fund-raisers. We aim to strike an appropriate balance between fund-raising activities and those which simply provide some fun for the children or reward for effort. Our children’s discos for instance are run with the aim of giving the children a good time and as a way of thanking families for their continued support.

Why we are registered as a charity?

The Charities Act 1993 requires organisations with an annual income in excess of £1,000 to register with the Charity Commission. As a Registered Charity we must abide by Charity Commission rules and regulations and we are bound by a Constitution. Our Constitution lays down rules about how we operate as a PTFA and how we conduct ourselves.

Being a Registered Charity provides us with many extra benefits;

Links with our local community

The school and the PTFA have strong links with the parish church of St Matthews. We have also developed strong links with the local community and are always well supported by both residents and businesses. Many of our local shops and businesses are very generous in their donations of raffle prizes and sponsorship of events.

PTFA Committee 2011/12

Our PTFA Committee includes 7 core members (Joint Chair, Vice-Chair,Treasurer and Secretary, plus Publicity and Social Secretaries). Currently the core members are,

Chair                  Will Dawson & Caine Scott-Mullen WalterEvansPTFA@gmail.com

Vice Chair            Sue Hidderley-Burton WalterEvansPTFA@gmail.com 

Secretary             Steve Levitt

Treasurer             Pip Scorah

Social Secretary      Matthew Chell

Publicity Secretary   Jane Spare

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The AGM is normally held at the beginning of the autumn term, and provides an opportunity for all parents to come along and hear in more detail about events run, future plans, the funds raised, and how these have been spent. It is also the occasion when we elect our new Committee.

Regular Meetings

The PTFA committee, Mrs Core, parents, teachers and friends of the school meet on a regular basis (at least once every half term), with smaller working groups meeting as necessary to organise the bigger events. The Committee meetings direct the priorities of the PTFA and help us spend the money wisely!

You are welcome to attend any of these meetings including the AGM. You do not need to be invited and we assure you of a warm welcome.

How we raise money

As in most schools, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Some of our most popular events are the May Fair, Santa's Secret Sale, Quiz Night and our Summer Ball. There is always something going on! We always try and respond to the children’s requests and it is fantastic to see them having fun at the events or enjoying using a piece of new equipment that the PTFA has provided. We are fortunate however to have other opportunities open to us to raise money. Donations are extremely important. These can be time, money, items for sale, donations for raffles or offers of services and skills etc. We are also registered with easyfundraising.org.uk which generates donations to the PTFA each time you shop online via the site with companies such as Amazon, Game, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, ELC, Next etc. It is very easy to register and we do raise money very easily this way at NO extra cost to you.

How we spend the money raised

Once money is raised from events the funds are banked straight away. The main decisions on how to spend the money are taken and ratified at our PTFA Committee Meetings. Usually, the school’s teaching staff will have a ‘shopping list’ of items that the school would like to purchase. Sometimes this will be as a result of the children asking for something through their ‘School Council’, or it may be an item that has been identified by both parents and the school. At other times it will be for resources to improve a particular area of the curriculum or school environment.

In the main the PTFA funds are for the ‘extras’ not provided by the school budget, that make our children’s learning experience so much more fulfilling and exciting. We always endeavour to spend our funds in ways that will benefit all our children across all areas of the school and curriculum.

There are also times when we have a big project under way that we need to save money for. We have recently donated several thousand pounds towards the cost of the magnificent trim trail and the KS 1 gardens.

How we get information to you

PTFA news is communicated through the following channels,

• A termly PTFA Newsletter.
• Dispatches from the chairs
• Texts and fliers for special events.
• The PTFA Noticeboard.

If you would like to be electronically copied into any information from the PTFA please send your email address to WalterEvansPTFA@gmail.com and update you with our dispatches from the Chairs!

How you can get involved?

There are lots of ways you can help and support your child through the PTFA. Offering to help before events, or at other times during the year is so valuable – it really is a case of ‘many hands make light work’. It doesn’t matter if you can’t help on a regular basis, or even if you can’t come into school. There are always little jobs that can be done from home if you have half an hour to spare. We really couldn’t achieve what we do without the unseen ‘army of helpers’ that exists in school.

You are welcome to attend PTFA meetings and give us your ideas for fund-raising events –this is also a good opportunity to ask questions or voice your opinion. You can also help us by letting us know if you have any business contacts or skills we could use. Overall we need anyone with enthusiasm and a willingness to help us make things better for all of the children at the school. If you feel you have any skills or business contacts that you would be willing to offer then please let us know.