Guidance for PA Committee Members

To be used as an induction pack for existing and new committee members.
This page needs to be read whilst linked to the Internet as most of the material is linked to other web sites.

Parents Association

Charity Commission

NCPTA

Parents Association

Constitution

The PA is run in accordance with the rules as described in its constitution.

Duties of Committee Members (as Charitable Trustees)

These are the duties of the PA as described in its constitution.

  • To advance the education of the pupils of the School
  • Providing and assisting in the provision of facilities at the School (not normally provided by the Local Education Authority (LEA)

Essentially the PA will support the School through the provision of grants.

Who are the Charitable Trustees for Allenbourn PA?
The Charity Trustees are those who have general control and management of the PA; in other words the PA Committee Members. Now for very good reasons some committee members may prefer not to be recognised as Charitable Trustees and still wish to offer their services to the PA. This is fine.
The Charity Commission need to know on an annual basis who is actually running the PA as a charity.
At the time of preparing the "Annual Returns" to the Charity Commission each committee member will be asked whether they wish to be identified on the "Annual Return" as a Charitable Trustee - or not.
It is a general legal principle that those who run the charity (the trustees) should not financially benefit from it, unless they are specifically authorised to do so either by the charity's governing document e.g.. Its Constitution (Rules)
Trustees must avoid being placed in a position where their duties as a trustee conflict with their own personal interests.
Trustees need to be over 18 and able to manage their own affairs.
People who are 'bankrupt', or have a conviction (unspent) for an offence involving deception or dishonesty cannot be a Trustee.
Source: Charity Commission


Responsibilities

The prime duties of the Charitable Trustees are not that onerous.
Generally the primary tasks are -

  • That the income and property of the charity must be applied for its rightful purpose, with complete fairness from those asking for a Grant.
  • That the PA income must be granted to the School within a reasonable period of receipt, unless the Trustees have an explicit power to accumulate it for a specific future use.
  • Trustees are also responsible for setting the strategic aims, objectives and direction of the Charity.
  • That Trustees identify risks arising from activities undertaken and then set out to manage and limit the possible impact of each identified risk. This is an important element in helping to ensure the strategic aims and objectives of the PA Charity are achieved.
  • If trustees act prudently, lawfully and in accordance with their Constitution then any liabilities they incur as trustees can be met out of the charity's resources. But if they act otherwise they may be in breach of trust and personally responsible for liabilities incurred by or on behalf of the charity, or for making good any loss to the Charity.
  • Since the PA Trustees are acting collectively in administering a Charity, they will usually be responsible collectively (the legal term is "jointly and severally") to meet any liability to a third party which has been incurred by them or on their behalf.
  • The Charity Commission is able to take proceedings in court for the recovery, from trustees personally, of funds lost to a charity as a result of a breach of trust by the trustees.

Financial Reporting

The PA will report on its finances at each committee meeting.  These reports will detail funds raised and grants made and account for the balances held by the bank or as petty cash.

The PA also has a duty to report on its finances to the Charity Commission within 10 months of the end of its financial year. For the PA the financial year runs from 1 September and ends on 31 August .


Child Protection

Children and young people have a fundamental right to be protected from harm.   Children and young people have a right to expect schools to provide a safe and secure environment.
There is a wealth of useful guidelines for the PA Committee to digest to promote child protection whilst at their school or involved in school related activities.
A good site to visit with loads of information is
www.education.gov.uk


Risk Management (Health & Safety)

This is an area of the PA committee's work that is under review.   It is an important area of the Committee's responsibility to ensure that all risks are identified for each event and that steps are taken to minimise the likelihood of those risks occurring and then to take steps to reduce the impact of damage should those risks actually occur.
Watch this space for the new guidelines in the near future.


Charity Commission

As Allenbourn Parents Association has an income greater than £1,000 per year we are required by law (The Charities Act 1993) to register as a Charity.
The PA was registered as a Charity in September 1986.
What are the benefits for us?

  • We can apply for Gift Aid which can earn an extra £0.28 in every pound donated to the PA
  • We gain exemption from income or corporation tax (but not VAT).
  • We can raise funds more easily from grant giving trusts, the National Lottery and local government
  • We have a charity number to use on letters, newsletters and other mailings.

There is no charge for registering with the Charity Commission
Source: NCPTA


Annual Returns

Each year, the named correspondent on the records held by the Charity commission will receive an Annual Return pack.    This pack contains an Annual Return, a Trustee Details Update form, a Glossary of Terms and a Change of Correspondent details card together with a covering letter explaining which forms should be completed and a pre-paid envelope for returning the completed documents.

As the PA is generally having an income and expenditure each of £10,000 or less, we need only complete part A of the Annual Return, together with the Trustee Details Update form.

Annual Returns must be completed and returned within 10 months of the end of a charity's financial year. so in the case of our PA these must be submitted by end of June.

For help and advice on completing the Annual Return or Trustee Details Update form we have free access to the Charity commissions web site at
www.charitycommission.gov.uk

The PA's correspondent on all matters relating ot the Charities Commission is Graham Webb.


Appointment of Charitable Trustees

A well-run charity has a trustee body of a manageable size, whose members together have the skills, knowledge and experience needed to run the charity economically and effectively.
Guidance on trusteeship can be found in Responsibilities of Charity Trustees (CC3). A trustee is someone who can act with integrity, act in the interests of the charity and act without regard to their personal interests.
Some people are disqualified by law from acting as trustee of a charity. The Charity Commission offers plenty of advice for the selection of Trustees.


Audit process
(for a "Well Run" Charity)

The Charity Commission's aim is to promote public confidence in the integrity of charity. It is public confidence that sustains the position of charities individually and collectively, enabling them to play the central role they do in today's society.
The Charity commission have a "Bench Mark" for a well run Charity.
Examples of a good Charity are

  • The PA Constitution should clearly identify who within the PA has this role of Charitable Trustee, and are thus legally the "Charity Trustees", though they may be known by another title such as Chairperson; Secretary; or Members, etc.
  • A well-run Charity has members with the skills, knowledge and experience needed to run the charity economically and effectively.
  • A good Charity provides induction for new trustees and opportunities for all trustees to develop their knowledge and skills.
  • They should work collectively, be decisive, guard against dominant individuals, and not allow private interests to influence them.
  • And much more.

Source: Charity Commission

The PA carried out its own audit, in December 2003, using the Charity Commission's auditing process. As a result, the PA is working towards a few minor changes that once completed will show that the PA is indeed a well run Charity.


Resources (on-line)

If you want to read more of the work of the Charity commission, then visit their web site at http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk


NCPTA

The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTA) has a vision of effective partnerships between parents and teachers which fosters learning opportunities both in and out of school.

The NCPTA aims therefore to

  • Support and encourage the development of PTAs
  • Facilitate educational advancement through PTAs
  • Be the voice of PTAs and parents for the education of their children

The NCPTA represents more than 6 million parents and teachers through over 12,500 individual PTAs in England Wales and Northern Ireland.


Membership

The PA is a member of the NCPTA. And as members we do have many benefits

  • Support and advice in running a PTA
  • Comprehensive PTA insurance
  • Help with charity registration
  • Local PTA support and training events
  • A magazine (PTA) and newsletter (News & Views)
  • Access to preferential charity banking
  • Information on fund-raising, trust funding, PTA and parental topics

Contacts

Further information on the work of the NCPTA can be found from their web site
www.ncpta.org.uk