Flixton Girls’ High School PTA
Our PTA helps our parents to understand why the school operates as it does. Getting involved will give you the opportunity to help build the sense of community that helps Flixton Girls’ High School to succeed. The PTA encourages parents and teachers to work together on their shared aims – to achieve the very best for their children. We would love you to come and join us.
Getting involved with the PTA
The ‘Parent-Teacher Association’ (PTA) is a group of interested people who are working together with the school to help achieve the best for everyone.
What’s the point of a PTA?
PTAs can help school communities to succeed. They can:
• help parents to become involved in school life
• help parents to learn more about the school
• help teachers and parents to work together for the school
• give everyone a sense of having a part to play in making the school a success
• raise funds for the school
What do PTAs do?
You may think that PTAs just help raise money and provide the teas and
coffees at special events. They often do – but there are many other ways
in which the PTA uses its energy and time to make a real difference to
the teaching and learning in their school.
The events are almost endless, but some typical examples might include
• organising social events
• organising fundraising events
• helping to organise and manage school events
• helping to purchase items for the school (these may be small – for example
refreshments for Sports Day – or large projects, such as agreeing to raise a specific
sum towards a new school eco garden)
• encouraging parents to share their skills, for example by running
clubs or coming in to talk about their experiences
• supporting the policies of the school
• giving members the confidence to become even more involved, for
example by becoming a parent governor or training as a classroom
assistant
• exploring ideas and suggestions for helping the school
One of the most important things that a PTA does is help to develop
the kind of relationship between parents and teachers which makes a real
difference to children’s learning. This leads to a partnership in which
parents and teachers talk and listen to each other, help each other and
work together. Our PTA will make this happen, and by getting involved with
the school’s PTA, you can help make it happen too.
What about meetings?
These are always informal and everyone is welcome.
The idea of meetings can put a lot of people off but you don’t have to be
on the committee and go to lots of meetings to get involved with a PTA.
However, if you would like to be on a committee, there are two different
types of meetings.
An Annual General Meeting is held once a year, to which everyone in the
school community is invited. This is an opportunity for anyone who would
like to join the PTA committee to be nominated and elected to the post
of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary or Treasurer etc. The rules governing the
PTA are reviewed at this time and the previous year’s committee talk
about the work they have done.
General meetings are held, on average, twice a term and are the time
when we plan the activities and events for all the PTA members and
school community to get involved in. We also share a lot of information
about the school at these meetings and if at all possible I attend the
meetings.
How involved would I have to be?
You can be involved as little or as much as you like. Some PTA members
support the school by helping on a regular basis. Others choose to serve
as officers as mentioned above. Some choose to organise activities, while
others prefer to support by attending all the activities or contributing
donations to fundraising events.
How will getting involved help me and my child?
Getting involved with the PTA could help you to really get to know our
school and what it is aiming to do. Understanding what the school is
aiming to do helps parents and teachers work together to achieve the
same thing – the very best learning for your child.
How will getting involved help the school?
Parents have a wide range of skills and experience that can help the
school. Getting involved with the school’s PTA will give you the
opportunity to find out about the many different ways in which you could
help your child’s school. You will begin to know more about what is going
on in the day-to-day life of the school and may discover that there is
something you can offer the school that you had not previously realised
they would even be interested in!
Our school is part of the community that they find themselves in. The
more members of that community who get involved, the more the school
will get to understand the needs of the community it is in.
When parents, children and teachers enjoy sharing experiences together
it helps to build a happy atmosphere in a school. It helps people to feel
good about the place and about the work they are putting in.
What should I do if I’m interested in finding out more?
If you’re interested in finding out more about our school’s PTA, please contact Mrs. Critchley on 0161 912 2949/07800 589508 or e-mail pta@flixtongirls.trafford.sch.uk