This document is the constitution of the Parents and Teachers Association of St Mary’s Church of Ireland Mixed National School, Arcadia, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.

This Constitution was adopted at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Parents and Teachers Association on 01/11/2016 and comes into effect on 06/01/2017 superseding all previous constitutions.

Contents

. Definitions

. Name of the Association

. Mission Statement

. Parents Teachers Association Membership

. Aims of the Association

. The Work of the Association

. Objectives of the Association

. Parent Teacher Association Committee

. Finance/Fundraising

. Complaints Procedure

. Confidentiality

. Membership of the National Parents Council – Primary

Definitions

This definition of “Parent” is the legal definition taken from the Education Act 1998. Parent – includes a foster parent,

a guardian appointed under the Guardianship of Children Acts, 1964 to 1997, or other person acting in loco parentis who has a child in his or her care subject to any statutory power or order of a court and in the case of a child who has been adopted under the Adoption Acts 1952 to 1998 or where the child has been adopted outside the State, means the adopter or adopters or the surviving adopter.

Name of the Association

The Association shall be called ‘St. Mary’s Mixed National School Parents and Teachers Association, hereafter referred to as the ‘Parent Teacher Association (PTA)’.

Mission Statement

The school welcomes and values parents as partners in education. It encourages your active participation in your child’s education and seeks to promote ways in which you can become meaningfully and appropriately involved in the life of the school.

Parent Teacher Association Membership

All parents of children attending St. Mary’s Mixed National School shall be deemed to be members of the Parent Teacher Association.

A Committee is elected on an annual basis to manage the operation of the Parent Teacher Association on behalf of the parents.

The Parent Teacher Association shall have two parent representatives on the Board of Management. Their brief is to reflect the opinions of all parents at board meetings and to report the views of the Board, as appropriate, at Parent Teacher Association meetings.

Aims of the Association

The aim of the Parent Teacher Association is to provide a structure through which the parents of children attending St. Mary’s Mixed National School can work together for the best possible education and school environment for their children.

The Parent Teacher Association will work with the Board of Management, Principal and staff to build an effective partnership between home and school.

The Parent Teacher Association will promote the interests of the students in co-operation with the Board of Management, Principal, teachers and students, in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act, 1998 Section 26 (2) (a).

The Work of the Association

The Parent Teacher Association, through the committee, will undertake a programme of activities which will promote the involvement of parents and which will support students, parents and school staff.

In planning its activities, the committee will consult with the school Principal and where necessary, the Board of Management.

The committee will be responsible for seeing that activities are run in an efficient and effective way.

The committee will arrange with the Principal and Board of Management a system for ongoing communication.

The committee will arrange with the parent membership a system for ongoing effective communication.

The PTA will not be involved in matters relating to the internal administration of the school. The Parent Teacher Association committee recognises that the internal organisation, management and discipline of the School is the responsibility of the Principal.

Objectives of the Association

The objectives of the Parent Teacher Association are to:

Represent the views of the parents.

Inform the parents of relevant developments in the school.

Foster co-operation between parents, the Principal, staff and Board of Management.

Assist in extracurricular activities as requested.

Help organise children’s leisure activities.

Assist in the provision of education for parents as requested.

Provide opportunities for parents and teachers to meet and exchange ideas on the education of children in the home and on areas of mutual interest.

Fundraising for the school by the Parent Teacher Association will be done with the prior agreement of the Board of Management.

Parent Teacher Association Committee

An annual general meeting (AGM) of the Parent Teacher Association members shall be held once a year in the first school term.

At the AGM all committee members step down, but they can be re-elected as long as they continue to be eligible to serve, that is as long as they continue to be a parent or guardian of a child in the school.

Sufficient notice should be given to allow for all interested parents to express an interest.

At this meeting members shall be elected onto the Parent Teacher Association committee to represent the parents until the next AGM.

Election shall be by a simple majority of the members by a show of hands voted for by the entire panel of parents offering themselves for election to the committee.

There shall be a minimum of five members on the committee including elected officers, parent representatives of the Board of Management and ordinary members.

Elected parent representatives on the Board of Management are automatically members of the committee but will not hold an officer post.

The Parent Teacher Association shall collaborate with the Chairperson of the Board of Management in the process of electing parent representatives to the Board of Management. Usually this will take place every four years.

A chairperson, secretary and treasurer will be elected from the committee.

No member of the committee will hold the same officer position for more that three consecutive years.

The committee shall meet a minimum of five times during the school year.

The principal, or nominated representative, will be invited to the meetings.

The Association in acknowledging the principals and teacher’s workload will arrange to communicate with the principal and/or teachers prior to the Parent Teacher Association meeting to discuss issues relevant to the association in the event they are unable to attend PTA meetings. Additionally, a meeting will be arranged by the PTA to be held in the school at a time mutually convenient to the Association committee and the school staff once within the school year.

The minutes will be completed and presented by the secretary for signing by the chairperson, following consensus, at the next ordinary meeting.

The minutes of all meetings are available to the membership on request.

Decisions at meetings of the Parent Teacher Association committee shall generally be arrived at by consent, with greater then 50% committee representation present. If there are different motions or viewpoints then decisions shall be arrived at by a simple majority show of hands.

This constitution will be reviewed and where necessary revised at any time, through the Parent Teacher Association committee, but at a minimum of every five years.

Finance/Fundraising

Fundraising for the school by the Parent Teacher Association will be done with the prior agreement of the Principal/Board of Management.

The Parent Teacher Association committee will agree with the Principal/Board of Management as to the specific purposes for which funds are to be raised by the Parent Teacher Association.

The Parent Teacher Association will hold a bank account in its name.

All cheques drawn on the account must be signed by the Treasurer and counter-signed by at least one other member of the committee.

The financial affairs of the committee shall be conducted so as to be clearly in surplus at all times.

A Treasurer will be appointed from among the committee members and will be responsible for keeping account of the income and expenditure of the Parent Teacher Association finances.

Parent Teacher Association committee will finance the activities of the Association through fundraising.

An update of the Parent Teacher Association’s finances will be given at each committee meeting.

Accounts shall be prepared and presented annually for submission to the AGM. A copy of this written statement will be forwarded to the Board of Management for their information.

Should it be deemed necessary, the committee may subject the accounts of the Parent Teacher Association to an independent review or audit by a member of the Parent Teacher Association or a Third Party qualified to carry out such a review or audit.

In the event of the Association’s dissolution, all monies in hand will be transferred to the Board of Management.

Complaints Procedure

The Parent Teacher Association committee has not been set up with the purpose to address any complaints parents may have about the school.

Any committee member can advise parents with a complaint the correct procedure to go through.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is very important as the effectiveness and reputation of the parents association would be compromised by a breach of trust.

Membership of the National Parents Council – Primary

The Parent Teacher Association will maintain membership of National Parents Council Primary by annual subscription.