Gerrans PTA

Gerrans School is fortunate to have a long established, welcoming and engaged Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Our aim is to foster a supportive school community for the benefit of our pupils. As well as building close links with the school we’re best known for our fundraising and for organising events and activities that enrich the educational journeys of the students at our wonderful primary school. Updates from the PTA can be found in the weekly school newsletter and we have a notice board outside the main school reception where we advertise upcoming events.

 

 

Our governing constitution enables us to allocate funds throughout the year in a fair and constructive way. We use the money we generate through fundraising, business donations and grant awards to help subsidise the cost of enrichment activities, experiences and resources which further the education and wellbeing of our students. Essentially we fund the ‘extras’ which aren’t covered by the school budget – or as we consider it, ‘the icing on the cake’. Over the last year we’ve been able to support the school community in the following ways:

 

• Over £1000 to buy new books for the library. 
• Over £1000 to help to subsidise the cost to parents of transportation for school trips. 
• Over £1000 to buy new playground equipment. 
• Purchasing personalised hoodies for our Year 6 leavers. 
• Purchasing treats e.g. Easter eggs, lollies after Sports Day, hot chocolate after the Santa Walk. 
• Subsidising the cost to parents of in-school activities e.g. Will Keating music workshop.

How can you get involved?

 

Since the success of the PTA depends on the generosity of volunteers, we value support from all parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers, and community members. There are lots of different ways you can contribute:

 

 

We currently have an enthusiastic and dedicated core group of 12 regular parent volunteers, who oversee the day-to-day running of the PTA and help build strong links with the school. At our latest AGM the following members were voted into Committee roles: 

• Chair - Rebekah Buchanan (Bria and Cora’s mum) 
• Treasurer - Alice Dodman (Ruby and Hazel’s mum) 
• Secretary - Kate Morse (Coral’s mum)

We are a relaxed group with children in different classes. For ease and flexibility we typically use Whatsapp to chat on a daily basis and try to meet once a month, in the pub, to share ideas and to plan events and activities. If you would like to become actively involved on a regular basis we’d love you to join us. Rest assured that perkiness is optional, although relentless energy and positivity is appreciated!

 

 

Getting involved with the PTA is a direct way to support your child’s school experience, and a fantastic opportunity to connect with the community, other parents and school staff. Our Volunteer Bank is made up of people who would like to help out on a more informal, specific, or ad hoc basis. Maybe you’re great at gardening; have the skills to help run an after school club; would enjoy making cakes or sandwiches for one of our events; have an hour to spare to run a stall at a fair; or simply have ideas to share. No commitments, just say yes when you can!

 

 

We work hard to organise fun seasonal events and activities which provide an opportunity for pupils, parents, staff and the community to get together and to build lasting memories. We rely on goodwill to create successful and sustainable events and we encourage everyone to take part. But we understand that that’s not always possible and there are lots of other ways to show your support, such as donating a raffle prize, sharing our activities with your friends and family and encouraging the local community or businesses to get involved.

 

 

Along with the school we’re passionate about inspiring a love of reading amongst the pupils – for learning, pleasure and for their wellbeing. For this reason one of our ongoing commitments to the school is to help keep the library updated with engaging and exciting books for each year group. There are two ways you can help with our ongoing fundraising: 

• Donate clothing/shoes to our regular Bag2School collections which are advertised in the newsletter and on our notice board. We get 40p for every kilo we collect and the entirety of this money is spent on fiction and non-fiction books selected by the school. 
• Donate directly to our new book fundraiser with Peter’s Books, who are the UK's leading specialist supplier of children's books to schools. This link will take you to our fundraising page: Love reading

 

Turn your online shopping into a donation for our PTA by using the easyfundraising website or app. When you make a purchase, a commission is generated, and easyfrundraising turn that into a donation to us – it’s basically magic! So whether you’re buying train tickets online, ordering your weekly supermarket shop, upgrading your phone, buying car insurance, splurging on a holiday, or simply shopping for a birthday present, there are over 7000 brands who will donate money to the Gerrans School PTA at no extra cost to you. The link below will take you to our fundraising page:

 Easy fundraising  

 

Get in touch If you have questions, suggestions, or if you would like to get involved please contact PTA Secretary Kate Morse

katemorse@hotmail.co.uk