Governance

The PTA holds meetings each term; all members are welcome.  An agenda is circulated ahead of the meeting.

The difference between PTA members and the PTA committee is that the committee roles have legal responsibilities and some powers in the day-to-day running of the Association, such as distributing and printing information, fundraising, signing off minutes, entering into contracts on behalf of the PTA and operation of the PTA bank accounts.

Committee roles include, but are not limited to

Nominations for election to the committee can be made by any PTA member, and seconded by another, and should be written to the chair.  Committee members are voted in at AGMs.  There is no limit to the number of committee members a PTA can welcome, nor the scope of their role, however, the Association cannot run with less than two committee members.  Members of the committee are registered with the Charity Commission.

Sub-committees can be set up for specific events or teams – as long as there is a committee member within that sub-committee.

According to the Constitution, committee members hold their position until the following year’s AGM.  Historically, at St Michaels the committee members are elected for a two year term.  

For meetings to be quorate (for proceedings to be valid), there needs to be double the number of non-committee members to committee members.  So if five committee members are present at the AGM, there need to be ten non-committee members present.

At PTA meetings, every member present is entitled to a vote on every issue raised.  In order to prevent stalemate, the chair of the meeting is given a casting vote but that is usually on the understanding that future discussion will be allowed on the subject at a later date.

A document called the Constitution sets out the rules and procedures by which the committee govern the PTA.

The St Michaels Parents Teacher Association Constitution has been adopted from a model constitution developed by Parentkind.  Previously known as PTA UK, this organisation is the leading body for PTA membership in the UK.

We pay an annual membership fee to Parentkind, and in turn they provide us with public liability insurance which covers meetings, activities, and committee members.  There are very strict rules and regulations in the insurance document regarding certain events like Fireworks night.

Separate to general PTA meetings, are committee meetings, which need to take place at least three times a year.  50% of the committee need to be present at the meeting for it to be quorate.

Any changes to the Constitution need to be agreed directly with the Charity Commission.  The PTA is an independent legal organisation registered under the Charity Commission, #1160427.

To contact the PTA, please approach any committee member in the playground, or a member of the SLT.  The email address is pta@stmichaels.wandsworth.sch.uk.

The PTA Constitution is filed in the PTA Dropbox folder – if you would like a more in depth look, please ask any of the current committee who can share the document with you.