The Richard Pate School Parent Teacher Association
Who are we?
The Richard Pate School PTA is a group of parents and teachers who commit to giving a few hours each term, to add a little extra to school life.
We run like many other similar groups and have the traditional roles of Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Communications Officer but what makes us different is that we are fun, proactive and benefit from a mixture of long term members with lots of experience as well as lots of new ones with fresh ideas! We also benefit hugely from working closely with the staff at school.
The parents at our school bring a wealth of diverse ideas, skills and resources which we hope to draw upon to enhance life inside and outside the classroom. Our group also brings an enthusiastic approach to further enhancing what is already a superb learning environment. We aim to be a positive focal point which helps to unite our school’s community and promote the feeling of “family” that is RPS.
How we work
We work together as a team united in providing fun events for the children and social events for the parents.
We have good communication between us and parents with at least one PTA member in each classroom. We meet one evening every term in the library (or pub!) to discuss what’s ahead and to review events. Additional sub meetings are often required for smaller event teams, who are running the bigger events, but these do not involve everyone.
We aim to communicate with all parents via class reps, newsletters and by working closely with school to ensure everyone knows what we have planned and what help is needed.
Once a year we have an Autumn annual meeting, when we discuss the year ahead, evaluate the previous year and allocate funds available. This is always a great meeting as there is nothing more rewarding than being able to commit to funding things for the children.
The events
The events are spread throughout the year. Some have become annual regulars, others novel one-offs. Some are solely social, and others are designed to raise funds. Our intention is that all the events are enjoyed by the school as a whole. Fundraising takes many forms, from selling ice lollies after school on Fridays during the Summer Term to hosting a Summer Ball every other June.
We hope to keep the events alive, fresh and enjoyable. Our success to date has been through the support, hard work and feedback of both the parents and teachers. Past event templates are available for those hoping to plan and run events in the future but we also enjoy trying something new every year. It is important to keep our ideas fresh and exciting and we warmly welcome any suggestions for new fundraising opportunities.
