Kickstart Your PTA: 8 Simple Steps for Busy Parents

Kickstart Your PTA: 8 Simple Steps for Busy Parents

A vibrant Parent Teacher Association (PTA) can massively enhance the educational experience and future prospects of our children. PTAs, and similar parent-led groups like Friends Associations, and PTFA, make a huge difference in schools. They raise an average of over £7,000 annually per school, collectively contributing an astonishing £93 million each year to our kids' education. Beyond fundraising, PTAs help build strong school communities and provide a forum for parent input on school policies.

Every school should have a parent-led group shouldn’t they?

Here’s a straightforward guide to getting your PTA up and running if you don’t already have one:

Step 1: Keep your School in the Loop

The first step is to talk to your school about your PTA plans and find a staff member who can be your ‘school champion’. It's crucial to have the school's leadership team on board to ensure the PTA’s success and this is also an opportunity to build on the parent-school communication side of things. 

Step 2: Have your First Parent Meeting

Invite all parents to a meeting to gauge their interest in forming a PTA. This is your chance to find out who is keen to help and what kinds of activities, such as fundraising or after-school clubs, parents want to support. And again, it’s a way for you to bring the community together and build an incredible group to collectively improve the educational experience of your children. 

Step 3: Form a Steering Group

Create a steering group of interested parents and staff to push your plans forward. These initial members are likely to form your PTA committee, although parents usually take the lead once the group is established.  To find out more about the different PTA roles, visit our earlier blog here: Getting Started with a PTA 

Step 4: Define Your Group Type

Decide on the type of group you want to form. This will determine your membership base. Options include a Parent Teacher Association (for parents and teachers) or a Friends group (including extended family members and other community members). You may also decide on a PA - a Parent’s Association without any school staff involved directly.  

Step 5: Establish a Constitution

As PTAs are considered small charities, having a constitution is essential for effective management. This governing document outlines how your PTA will operate. If you're a PTA member, you can use the Charity Commission-approved Model Constitution. This can be daunting if it’s your first time, but you may find many templates available that you can edit with consent, and you can also visit our blog post on Writing a PTA Constitution here for more guidance. 

Step 6: Hold Your First AGM

Announce your first Annual General Meeting (AGM) with 21 days' notice. Invite nominations for committee roles. Keep the AGM short and focused on electing your committee and adopting your constitution. Consider making it a fun event by combining it with a social gathering. We love all the opportunities that PTA tasks bring to build  stronger communities. 

Step 7: Set Up a Bank Account

Discuss the details of opening a bank account for your PTA and agree on bank signatories, set fundraising goals, and start planning your first event. It’s also a good idea to research the different options available for registered charities so that you have  a cost effective option that also offers you all the services you need. Having a dedicated account will help manage funds transparently as well as saving reconciliation time. The myPTA app offers 3 different ways for you to receive automated payments directly to your PTA bank account. This increases payment security and reduces the amount of lost payments, and with detailed analytics and downloadable reports, you’ll also save on admin time. 

Step 8: Communicate Your Plans

Ensure you communicate your plans effectively to everyone involved. Good communication is key to keeping parents and staff engaged and informed about your PTA’s activities and goals.  The myPTA app is built for community building and we offer both private messaging and a community wide news board for sharing information. This way everyone is kept involved and updated. Not to mention the time you’ll save when not having to resend the same information through several methods. 

By following these steps, you can establish a PTA that makes a significant impact on your school community. With the support of PTA Membership Advisers and online resources, your PTA will be ready to enhance your children’s education in no time.