What is an AGM?

This is the formal meeting of the association, where the committee members report back to their members about the activities they’ve run throughout the year, and where the election of the new committee happens. As the name suggests, AGMs are held once a year, which means the timing for future AGM’s will mainly be determined by when the last meeting happened.

When should we hold our AGM?

Typically an AGM is held either towards the end or at the beginning of the school year. This is a good point in time to review what has happened during the year, and to recruit new committee members.

How do we call an AGM?

Your constitution will tell you how many days notice to give for your AGM, but typically it’s 21 days. Give notice to all of your members with the time and date of the AGM using as many communication channels as possible.

Because this is a meeting for all members, the time of your meeting should be set so that it is accessible for as many members as possible.

How many members need to attend the AGM?

The PTA constitution should specify the number of attendees required for a quorum (the minimum number of members of an association that must attend a meeting for it to be valid).

Parentkind recommends the number of AGM attendees is twice the number of committee members or more: if your association has five committee members, then at least 10 members of the association must attend (although this can include committee members as they are also members of the association).

If your association is struggling to get enough attendees, try making it a social occasion. Hold it as part of a cheese and wine night or combine it with another successful PTA event. An AGM needn’t take long and could easily be held in an event interval.

Where should we hold our AGM?

An AGM can be held anywhere. However, most PTAs will hold their AGM at the school. It’s a free venue and one that will be familiar and accessible for members. Also, using the school will make it more likely that staff will attend who can talk about the importance of the PTA.

If the school isn’t available or if an alternative venue seems more likely to secure attendees there is nothing to prevent the PTA from holding an AGM off the school site. For example, an AGM might be held where there are facilities to host a crèche for young children or in the local pub to make the event more social and relaxed.

While it is the right of the PTA committee to determine the venue for the AGM, care should be taken to explain this and the rationale to the school so that it will be fully supportive.

Who has a vote at the AGM?

Everyone present at the meeting is entitled to vote.

How do we elect our committee?

It is best practice for committee members to be elected for a year and to stand down at the next AGM. There is nothing to stop them from standing again, but they would need to be re-elected.

The election will be a vote of those present at the meeting with each person standing needing to secure a majority of the votes cast. Where this is competitive, it’s a good idea for those standing to leave the room while the vote happens. Usually, a show of hands is sufficient but if it is close and contentious it may be better to conduct a written ballot with the results being carefully recorded.

What happens if all the committee members want to stand down and no-one has come forward to take over?

This can happen to even the most successful PTA and is often caused by people being concerned about the time involved in being a committee member. Sometimes it takes the PTA being on the point of dissolving for members to step forward and join the committee.

However, the bottom line is that without committee members, the PTA can’t continue and will have to dissolve. The association’s constitution/governing document will specify the minimum number of committee members required to continue (the Parentkind model constitution specifies a minimum of two committee members). The minimum number of committee members have to stay in place until the charity is dissolved in accordance with the rules and regulations set out in the constitution/governing document.

What is a committee meeting?

After your committee are elected, they are then responsible for all decisions about the PTA for the next 12 months, e.g. organising events, spending of funds, and general admin. Check your constitution for your committee meeting rules e.g. quorum, how many meetings etc.

To be as inclusive as possible, some PTAs hold “open” PTA meetings where all members are invited to attend. If any voting takes place at these meetings, these are informal votes. The committee would need to formalise these decisions at a committee meeting – usually added on to the final 10 minutes of the open meeting rather than trying to arrange another meeting.

A committee is a team of volunteers who are elected at the association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) to manage the association on behalf of the members. There are two types of committee member, Officer and Ordinary (or Other) member.

Officers have specific roles such as Chair, Treasurer or Secretary.

Chair: directs your meetings, making sure everyone’s views are heard and everyone is involved in the meeting. He or she should make sure all committee members are familiar with the association’s constitution, and their role and responsibilities as a committee member and trustee.

Treasurer: ensures accurate financial records are kept and best practice procedures are followed for counting money, banking and making payments. He or she should keep the committee updated with regular reports, and ensure end of year reports are completed for the association’s AGM and the Charity Commission annual return.

Secretary: supports the Chair to build effective communication links between the school and the association and maintains accurate records

Ordinary Committee Members play a vital role working alongside and supporting the Officers. Ordinary committee members could be given extra roles to help support the Officer roles, for example managing the Association Facebook page – a Social Media Co-Ordinator, helping new parents become involved in school life or recruiting existing parents to volunteer at events, maybe as a Class Representative. This role is a good introduction to the committee for those who wish to be fully involved in the Association but maybe are just finding their feet and don’t want to commit to an Officer role.

All committee members have equal voting rights, with the exception of the Chair, who has an additional casting vote, should this be needed.

Additional support/Sub Committees
In addition to the elected committee, it is valuable to have a list of volunteers/helpers, who are willing to support the work of the committee. Volunteers/helpers are welcome to attend open PTA meetings and being a volunteer can be a gentle introduction to the PTA, many volunteers go on to being elected committee members. Sub-Committees are often used to organise key events such as the Fireworks, Summer Fair, Ladies Pamper Evening or Christmas Gift Sale. A sub-committee always has to have a committee member involved, who can report back to the committee.

Trustees
Headcorn School PTFA registered charity all the elected committee members (Officers) automatically become Trustees of the association (charity) and have a legal duty to ensure that the association (charity) acts lawfully and is managed properly.

Whilst Trustees have a legal duty it is important to remember that all decisions should be made collectively by the committee. No one individual should take sole responsibility for a committee decision or activity.