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Parent Teacher Associations / Friends of the school

Almost all Church schools will have an organization that seeks to bring together all those adults in the area who wish to support the work of the school. Membership is usually drawn from those who are parents of current pupils, are on the staff of the school, or appreciate the contribution that the school makes to the wider community.

Most of these organizations are called Parent Teacher Associations but sometimes they are referred to as "Friends" of the school, to make it clear that the third group mentioned above are welcome as members.

Whatever its name the organization usually has several objectives. These will probably include:

  1. Fund raising for the school.
  2. Organizing social events to bring people together.
  3. Organizing opportunities for parents to learn more about the way in which schools are organized today and what is taught.
  4. Caring for the school and all those who work in it (pupils and adults).
  5. Contributing to the wider community that the school serves.

Inevitably these objectives overlap and some of the activities organized by the PTA will serve many of them at the same time.

Every parent in the school should feel that they are a part of this organization and should feel free to join in all the activities that interest them or that they feel are important.

On rare occasions there are complaints that one of these organizations has become a small "clique". The way to avoid this is for everyone associated with the school to support the organization actively and not leave all the work to someone else.

Further information

Introducing Church schools
Diocesan Education contacts
Appeals
Parent governors
PTAs / Friends

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