FOWPS are looking for Parent Class Representatives.

Parent-teacher associations (PTAs) are an important asset to most primary schools, organising events and helping to raise vital funds for the school. As well as the formal PTA positions of chair, treasurer and secretary, parents are invited to become the PTA representative for their child’s class. There are many good reasons to get involved as your child’s class rep. The main one is to help your child’s school.

There’s no formal person specification for the class rep position, but ideally, you need to be sociable, confident enough to put pressure on other parents to help out with events, and organised. Having enough spare time for the job is important, too; if you work full-time and are rarely in the playground for drop-off or pick-up, it can be hard to build relationships with other parents. Being a class rep isn’t just a job for women. We’d love to see some Dad’s volunteering.

But what exactly does being a class rep involve?

Being a class rep allows you to have a greater say in what the PTA does in terms of organising events and raising money. It’s also a good way to get to know other parents within the school, from your own child’s class and others.

Duties of class reps:

• Attending PTA meetings (optional) and passing on comments and suggestions from the other parents in your child’s class. This can be done via email to the committee if preferred.
• Helping with school events such as the summer fete and Christmas fair. This may involve helping to organise the entire event, coordinating a particular stall, and compiling a rota of your class parents to help on the day.
• Attending other school events such as sports day, discos and concerts to help serve refreshments, sell programmes and other similar tasks.
• Drawing up a list of contact details (from willing families) for all the parents in the class, circulating this to the families, and keeping it up to date. This is helpful for arranging playdates and birthday party invitations. This is especially helpful for parents not on social media.
• Organising social events for class parents such as coffee mornings and drinks or meals out.
• Coordinating collections for end-of-term presents for staff.
• Administrating the class Facebook page where class parents can communicate. Includes placing reminders, passing on messages from the teacher or information from the office.
• Acting as an extra line of communication between the teacher and parents, for example by passing on messages about school trips and events.

Suggestions for ways to support the class and the teacher:(Not always being actively involved but providing the link to other parents that may be able to help)

• Communication with other class parents.
• General in-class support as requested by the class teacher, such as listening to readers.
• Encouraging parents to support school  and class events.
• Help with organising class parties and events.
• Helping with cooking, planting, art and other practical activities.

If you think you are the perfect person for the role, please speak to any FOWPS committee member or email fowps@woodcote-primary.co.uk to register your interest.