PTA / Parents Forum

All Weald CPS parents, carers, guardians and teaching staff are automatically members of this body. It is a registered charity that aims to advance the education of the children and support the staff of the school. This is achieved through fundraising events, social occasions and open and constructive school-home partnership.

The PTA meets monthly at the school and the date and agenda are published in advance. It aims to be open, accountable and democratic in its decision-making.

Link to PTA website: www.wealdpta.co.uk

The Head Teacher’s View….

Weald Community Primary School is blessed with a highly active and well-supported PTA which organises a wide variety of social events and fundraising projects to benefit the school community.

Innovative ideas coupled with meticulous planning and hard work mean that the Weald PTA is able to deliver a rich mix of activities including the Christmas Fair, Summer Fete, Quiz Night, Dragon-boat racing on Bewl water and much more. The expertise and experience of parents from many walks of life are harnessed to form creative and committed teams of volunteers. The substantial sums of money raised have a valuable impact on the educational provision of the children. In recent times, PTA projects have funded the construction of a Multi-Use Games Area/Playground; a Jungle Gym; the installation of Wi-Fi and multifarious items of sports and other equipment. All of these developments are closely linked to priorities contained within the School Improvement Plan.

The partnership between home and school at Weald is clearly exemplified through the interest and dedication of the PTA. Owing to the strength and vitality of this relationship, we are able to look to the future with a true sense of optimism and collegiality.

The Parents’ Forum is a group of parent representatives who meet four to five times a year to discuss school-related issues. Regular, open communication and consultation with parents is truly important to the school. The Parents’ Forum provides a valuable way to listen to your ideas and concerns and seek your views, helping to make sure the needs of children and their families are met.

Meetings will be led by school staff and governors, usually by the Headteacher. Meetings are informal and will offer a genuine opportunity for open discussion.

The role of the Parents’ Forum is consultative. It has an important role in informing decision-making processes but it cannot make decisions on behalf of the school. The Governing Body remains the decision-maker and provides strategic leadership. Setting up a Parents’ Forum will not lead to any reduction in the role and responsibilities of the Governing Body.

Examples of issues that might be discussed include:

• School development planning
• Helping children with their learning/behaviour
• Parking
• Clubs and activities
• School trips and events
• Parents’ evenings
• School lunches/photographs
• Tapping parental expertise to enrich the teaching of the curriculum

The issues raised will be general issues. If you have specific concerns about your child, your first point of contact should always be your class teacher.

How to become a member of the Parents’ Forum.

The parent representatives for each class will automatically be elected to the Parents’ Forum so that there is representation of a range of views across children’s classes and year groups.

Once the Forum has been constituted at the beginning of each new academic year, agenda items will be sought from the Forum representatives in advance of each meeting.

Sharing the information ……..

Parent members will be encouraged to share information from the Parents’ Forum with parents of other children in their child’s class. Notes from meetings will also be published on the school website.

If you would like a parent representative to raise an issue or make a suggestion on your behalf at the Parents’ Forum, please ask them to do so, or send a message to Mr. Pyle.

The next Parents’ Forum Meeting will be on Monday 7th October, 2019. Agenda to include after school care & Character Education (the role of the parent).