Parent Teacher Associations

Please feel free to contact us with any ideas or suggestions at info@lytchettmatraverspta.net.

What is a PTA?

A Parent Teacher Association is a very good way to bring together parents, teachers and others to raise money and to support the school. It provides an opportunity for everyone to work together towards a common goal and is open to all parents and teachers even if they only have a small amount of time available to get involved. It is also a good way for parents to become more involved with their children’s school and to get to know everybody.

The PTA try to keep parents well informed of our events and activities through flyers, the school newsletters and our website. We are very well supported and encouraged by the school itself, and we would encourage parents/carers to get involved at whatever level they feel able – whether it is taking on a specific role in the committee, attending meetings and helping to organise events, or simply getting involved with our events as and when they happen.

Charity Registration

It is a legal requirement that organisations such as ours, with an annual income in excess of £5,000 register with the Charity Commission. As a Charity we must abide by Charity Commission rules and regulations and we are bound by a constitution, which sets out rules about how we operate as a PTA and how we conduct ourselves. Ours states our aims as:

"to advance the education of pupils in the School in particular by developing effective relationships between the staff, parents and others associated with the School, and by engaging in activities or providing facilities or equipment which support the School and advance the education of the pupils".

Being a Registered Charity gives us extra benefits:

  • We are able to apply for Gift Aid, which can earn us an extra 28.2p in every pound donated to the PTA, out of earned income.
  • We can raise funds more easily from grant giving trusts, local businesses etc.
  • We can take advantage of charity matched giving schemes. Many companies run schemes whereby they will equal monies raised by registered charities; usually this involves very little effort on behalf of the employee. We would be very grateful if you could check to see if your employer runs a similar scheme and please contact us if they do, so we can try to access these funds.