Parents Association Charter: St. Peter’s National School, Dungourney.
Mission Statement
The purpose of the Parents Association is to provide a structure through which the parents/guardians of children attending St. Peter’s National School can work together for the best possible education for their children. The Parents Association will work with the Principal, staff and Board of Management to build effective partnerships between home and school.
The aim of the Parents Association is to enable parents to play their part in ensuring provision of the best possible education for their children and that is achieved through the associations programme of activities.
Membership
All parents/guardians of children attending St. Peter’s National School are eligible to be members of the Parents Association at their desire.
The Committee
The members of the Parents Association will elect a committee of 3 persons, who will have responsibility for representing the parents of St. Peter’s National School and managing the activities of the Parents Association. The roles of Committee members are outlined in Appendix 1.
Subcommittees
Subcommittees can be set up if required for particular tasks. The subcommittees may not make decisions; they remain at all times accountable to the Committee.
Election of the Committee
The members of the Committee will be elected each year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Parents Association. The AGM is to be held at the beginning of the school year i.e. September. There are three roles for election each year- the Chairperson, the Secretary and the Treasurer. Any member of the Parents Association can put themselves forward for election. The candidate with the highest number of votes will be elected to the post. Each member will be elected for a term of one year. Members can be re-elected to the Committee as long as they continue to be eligible to serve, that is as long as they continue to be a parent/guardian of a child in the school.
Role of the Committee
The Committee will be responsible for ensuring that parents are consulted on issues which are pertinent to the entire parent body. The Committee may assist the School Principal and Board of Management on any matters relating to the school if asked to do so.
The Committee is the team that will manage the tasks of the association on behalf of the parent body (the members).
The Committee will endeavour to host meetings quarterly (one per term of the school year).
The Committee will draw up an annual plan of activities in consultation with parents and in accordance with their wishes.
The Committee will be responsible for seeing that activities are run in an efficient and effective way.
The Committee will consult with the School Principal (and the Board of Management if required) when planning the programme of activities for any particular year.
The Committee will arrange with the School Principal a system for ongoing communication.
The Committee will manage and account for any funds collected or expended by the Parents Association.
The Parents Association has no input into decision making and management issues in the school or professional issues i.e. teaching and learning. The Parents Association will not function as a complaints system.
Finance
The Parents Association will finance its activities through fundraising and/or voluntary contributions from parents/guardians of children in St. Peter’s National School. The elected Treasurer will be responsible for keeping account of the income and expenditure of the Parents Association’s finances. The Treasurer will report on income and expenditure at each committee meeting.
A written statement of income and expenditure will be provided at the Association’s AGM and a copy will be forwarded to the Board of Management (if required) for their information. The Parents Association will keep a bank account in its name. There should be two names on the bank account, that of the Treasurer and the Chairperson. The Principal of the school may be added as an extra named person on the account if requested/required by the school.
Each cheque issued will require 2 signatures. The Treasurer and the Chairperson must sign all cheques drawn on the account. A digital record should be made available to the Committee of the Association’s finances, to be updated by the Treasurer monthly. Detailed records and receipts should be kept of all transactions.
Fundraising for the School
Fundraising for the school by the Parents Association will be done with prior agreement of the School Principal (and the Board of Management if required). The Committee will agree with members of the Association as to the specific purpose for which funds are to be raised.
Funding for Parents Association activities may also be raised by way of a voluntary contribution from families of the school and this will be done with prior agreement of the School Principal.
Membership of the National Parents Council
The St. Peter’s National School Parents Association is a member of the National Parents Council (NPC) of Ireland. This is a yearly membership. The mission of the NPC is to ensure all parents are supported and empowered to become effective partners in their children’s education. Yearly membership of the NPC will be maintained by the Parents Association.
Changing the Charter of the Parents Association
Changes to the Charter can be made at the AGM or, if for an urgent reason, an Emergency General Meeting (EGM) can be called for that specific purpose. Proposals to change the Charter must be submitted in writing to the Parents Association Committee. The Committee will then circulate these proposals to all parents before the AGM/EGM. All parents of children in the school at the meeting are eligible to vote on proposals.