St Christophers Parent Association Committee Responsibilities President The St Christophers Head Teacher shall be, ex officio, President of the

Association and shall be entitled to attend, speak and vote at meetings Chair The chairs job falls into four main parts: 1. The chair is the public face of the elected committee. Representing the school where necessary at public events and sometimes at meetings of other organisations. In rare cases, some emergency will occur between committee meetings, which requires an immediate response. In this case, the responsibility rests on the chair, who should consult as many committee members as possible, by personal contact or by telephone, before making an interim decision. This will be reported to the committee at the next meeting. 2. The chair takes charge of open meetings and of committee meetings. This does not mean that the committee is there to do what the chair wants. It means that the chair has the difficult and important task of seeing to it that the meetings are effective: those decisions are taken and implemented in a way that reflects the needs and wishes of the school members and makes the best use of the skills and talents available. 3. The chair is usually the line manager of any staff. 4. The chair must support and authorise the work of the treasurer. Checking at regular intervals (at least monthly) that the amounts of money banked correspond with the amounts signed for on original documents such as receipts. The treasurers job is a time-consuming and unglamorous one and it is up to the chair to provide as much support as possible. Secretary The secretary deals with the entire groups official paperwork except for keeping accounts. The work includes: 1. Writing and receiving letters for the group and keeping records of all the correspondence. 2. In consultation with the chair, drawing up and circulating and agenda before meetings. 3. Ensuring that everyone knows in good time about the date, time and place of committee meetings and general meetings. 4. Keeping proper records (minutes) of meetings. 5. Arranging the venues for meetings. The secretary can delegate some of this work if necessary. Some groups, for example, have a separate minute taker. Treasurer The committee as a whole are responsible for making financial decisions but the treasurer is the one who keeps the records of all the groups financial transactions. The treasurers job covers three main areas: Planning The treasurer will: 1. Prepare in advance a receipts and payments budget for the year, divided into manageable time-spans such as months or terms, using the same headings as those in the accounts book. 2. Open/maintain the groups bank account, updating the list of signatories as necessary. Day to day management The treasurer will: 1. Ensure that all money, from other sources such as fundraising events, is signed for and goes to the bank as quickly as possible, and is properly entered in the accounts book. 2. Hold the groups chequebook and ensure that all legitimate bills are paid promptly and properly entered in the accounts book. 3. Administer a petty cash account, in which all withdrawals are authorised by a committee member other than the treasurer. Reporting The treasurer will: 1. Check bank statements, ensuring that each statement is signed by the chair. 2. Present a receipts and payments account for the year to date at each committee meeting. 3. Present the latest accounts book balance at each committee meeting, and the likely movements in the coming term, recommending ant action necessary. 4. Prepare an annual receipts and payments account. 5. Arrange for independently examined accounts to be available to the whole group at its Annual General Meeting. 6. Make recommendations to the group about finances. 7. Prepare an annual budget for the groups approval.

Other committee members The rest of the work is shared among the committee. In addition to being jointly responsible for all decision-making, members of the committee will arrange for the following work to be done, though they might not do it all in person: 1. Keeping the whole group in touch with each others decisions and activities by means of a noticeboard and/or newsletters/letters to parents and carers. 2. Administering a waiting list in accordance with the groups admissions policy. 3. Fundraising. 4. In consultation with staff, buying equipment for the group. 5. In consultation with staff, ensuring the Social Services registration requirements and, where appropriate, Ofsted requirements, are met. 6. Arranging the groups insurance and maintaining an inventory. 7. Making sure the group is a safe place to be, for both children and adults. 8. With staff, making regular checks on the accident and incident record. 9. Ensuring that school Learning Alliance membership is updated as necessary. This Constitution was adopted at the meeting held on:. Chairperson

Signed By:

Vice Chair..

Treasurer.

Secretary.