Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
At Dundonald Primary School we have an active, enthusiastic and well supported Parent Teacher Association (PTA). The PTA aims to support the school and to help provide a wider and richer experience for the pupils at Dundonald.
The objectives of the PTA are to organise events and activities that raise funds for equipment and projects in school, to organise social events for the enjoyment of the pupils, their families and the wider community and to represent the children's interests in community matters.
The organised events vary from year to year but typically include summer and Christmas fair, quiz night, movie night, and more. All PTA events can be booked on the PTA website.
Members of the PTA are parents, carers, teaching and non-teaching staff or those who have previously been involved with the school. All parents/carers and staff are automatically members of the PTA.
Dundonald PTA is a registered charity (no. 1121689).
If you would like to contact members of the PTA committee to offer help, makes suggestions or to find out more, please do so using the following e-mail address: pta.dundonald@gmail.com.
How to get involved
The PTA is run by volunteers and welcomes everyone who would like to get involved (incl. committee membership). There are many ways to help and support the PTA; from one off smaller tasks to larger ongoing projects that can fit around your availability and suit your interest.
Event-organisation and fund raising are truly a team effort, so many responsibilities are shared across all the members of the PTA.
Every member of the school community can attend the AGM and give ideas for fundraising events.
The PTA usually meet on Friday morning at 9am in school. Everybody is welcome to attend. Minutes are available for those who cannot attend.
Dundonald PTA Committee
The PTA committee is the team elected at the PTA's annual general meeting (AGM) that manages the PTA on behalf of the members. The AGM is held at the beginning of the academic year.
| PTA Role | Name | Description of Role |
| Chair |
Andrea Deol |
The Chair oversees all PTA activities, liaises with school and governors, coordinates projects & volunteers, welcomes and involves new members. The chair works closely with the secretary and treasurer to ensure that events run effectively and to prepare the annual report and accounts. |
| Secretary | Tara Macsweeney | The secretary is responsible for taking minutes during meetings to provide a record of decisions taken and actions agreed, the co-ordination of production of notices/flyers to promote PTA events and the liaison with the PTA Chair to prepare agendas. |
| Trustees |
Andrea Deol Ili Afifuddin Louise Crowley Lindsey Peck Nina Austin Katie Silverstein Natalie Kemsley |
The trustees are responsible that the PTA is well run, solvent and delivers on its charitable purpose. The trustee is legally responsible for the charity and compliance with The Charities Act 2011. |
| Treasurer |
Ili Afifuddin |
The treasurer's role is to manage the funds that the PTA raises. The treasurer is responsible for the PTA accounting, financial reporting, signing cheques / authorising payments (with another committee member), banking monies raised. |
| Active Members | Various | All parents/carers and teaching/non-teaching staff are automatically members of the PTA. How much they wish to participate is up to the individual. |
Class Representatives
Class reps play a crucial role in the day-to-day support of school life. Being a class reps is an important and rewarding role. They help to build a sense of community among the class parents and liaise between PTA and parents.
Typically, class reps
- help to build the class social network by organising parent socials (e.g. coffee mornings, evening drinks).
- maintain a class contact list of emails and phone numbers and use it to communicate with parents/carers in the group.
- co-ordinate fundraising (e.g. organising the class stall at the Christmas and summer fair),
- run smaller events class fundraisers (usually 2 per academic year) and organise Christmas/end of year cards and gifts for the teachers.
If parents/carers have a question or problem related to teaching or their child's schooling, they are asked to contact the teacher or responsible Assistant Headteacher directly. The role of the class rep does not extend to this area.
PTA Fundraising
The PTA raises funds for the school by organising social functions like movie nights, Christmas and summer fairs, children's discos and quiz nights and with activities such as selling Christmas trees, second hand school uniform and organising mufti days.
A significant amount of PTA funds come from sponsorship. The PTA has benefited from sponsorship of the Christmas Fair, quiz night, community day and the summer fair.
A simple way to raise money for the school is through easyfundraising. Sign up to www.easyfundraising.org.uk, choose 'Dundonald Primary School PTA - London' as the school you want to support and search for the online shop you want to make your purchase from. Most larger online retailers like ARGOS, Amazon, Booking.com, Habitat, John Lewis, Adidas are participating.
Every purchase online helps to raise money for our school.
A significant amount of money comes from sponsorship. We have benefited from sponsorship of the Christmas Fair, quiz night, community day and the Summer Fair.
How does the PTA spend the money?
The PTA endeavor to spend the funds in ways that will benefit all children across the various areas of the school and curriculum. These are usually 'extras' that the school budget would not cover and make the children's experiences at school more fulfilling and exciting.
The PTA liaise with the school about what they would like to be funded. As there are more things on the 'wish list' than funds available there is a process of prioritising and voting in order to come to a final agreement. All parents and staff have a right to hand in requests.
A presentation of the PTA's finances is delivered at each Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the beginning of the academic year.
PTA Funded Projects
Recently PTA funds were approved to renovate the school playground, to purchase Lower School laptops, classroom digital cameras and visualisers, playground equipment and library software to mention just a few.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why is Dundonald PTA a registered charity?
The Charities Act 1993 requires organisations such as the Dundonald PTA with an annual income in excess of £1,000 to register with the Charity Commission. As a charity the PTA must abide by Charity Commissions rules and regulations and are bound by a constitution. The constitution lays down rules about how the PTA operates and how the PTA has to conduct.
Being a registered charity gives many extra benefits:
- being able to apply for GiftAid
- to take advantage of charity matched giving schemes
- funds can be raised more easily from grant giving trusts, local businesses etc.
What is the Annual General Meeting (AGM)?
The Annual General Meeting this year was held on 1st March and it is an opportunity for parents/carers to come along and hear in more detail about planned events, funds raised and how PTA funds were spent. It is also the occasion to ask questions and when the new committee is elected.
AGM