Find out more about how we work

Ahead of our AGM on the 10th of October the existing committee thought it might be helpful for everyone to know what the various roles entail. All roles are up for re-election and if you would like any further info about the roles please let us know. Many of us work full time and obviously we’re all volunteers but it really is enjoyable and manageable and it’s lovely to be part of such a successful PTA providing so much support to St Peter’s.

One point you might notice below is how we mention each role involving working with others. This is because we do support each other and one particular event or activity is never down to a sole individual.

Chairperson

The Chair of FOSP is responsible for leading our charity – they will run the meetings, help organise events, talk at welcome mornings and liaise with staff to do what we can to support the school. Just because you are ‘Chair’, it does not mean you do everything or have to be at every event, but it does help to be confident at speaking with people! A strong committee will help provide back-up and guidance over any decision-making.

Vice-Chairperson

As Vice-Chair, you are ready to step in should the Chair be unavailable. You can provide guidance, consistent support and ensure the role of Chair doesn’t get too overwhelming. Vice-Chair may take on some responsibility for organising specific events such as the Christmas Fayre.

Secretary

The Secretary puts together minutes, agendas and works closely with the Chair on other areas of communications. This might be with the support of other officers – for example, liaising with staff, updating the website and sharing news with the school community. We use Google Drive to manage our documents and have a lot of existing formats that you will be able to make use of.

Treasurer(s)

In recent years, we have had more than one treasurer as this role actually has a lot more to it than might be immediately visible, and that is partly because of the figures we raise! We currently have one treasurer who runs the 150 club, another who helps counting the cash and organising floats and putting money into our account, and a third who processes payments and manages invoices. Last year we raised over £20k and we hope to reach the same figure this year, so having multiple treasurers allows each of them to play a key part but without becoming too time-intensive.

Publicity officer(s)

Once we have planned our events, it is crucial to let people know about them! Whether you have an eye for design, you are simply happy going to local businesses asking for posters to be put up, or you can manage our Facebook page, we need your help.

Catering officer

Many of our popular events have delicious food and a catering officer works to ensure we have a range of options that can contribute towards the funds we raise. You don’t have to cook or bake the food yourself but you need to coordinate with caterers to ensure there is food at events such as fireworks, inflatables and the Christmas fayre. This is another perfect role if you’re looking for something more operational and behind the scenes.

Bar officer

Our bar officer is responsible for purchasing drinks as well as ensuring we have the appropriate licenses should alcohol be involved. You will pick the drinks to sell as well as advise on setting prices. You will run the bar at any events and organise other volunteers to help you.

Tuck officer

A popular point with parents as well as the children, tuck is a highlight for many of our events, particularly the discos! You will help to buy tuck, keep track of what we have, set prices, and store any leftovers. We have accounts at Bookers but you can buy tuck wherever we can get the best deal; the treasurers are amazing at immediately reimbursing anything you spend.

Inflatables officer

Inflatables is our second largest event of the year and is held in May on the school field. We work with Giggle City who manage the inflatables and ticket sales but we focus on food, drinks, and other stalls to help increase the amount we raise. The inflatables officer coordinates all of this but also uses the rest of the committee for support.

Fireworks officer

The annual fireworks display raises over £8,000 a year and is our first big event of the year. It helps us to start the new school year with a healthy bank balance, ready for any requests from the school. Planning typically begins in June as we have to buy the fireworks, ensure we have enough firers, book in first aiders, plan the layout, and make decisions on other purchases. Once the autumn term starts, there are other tasks such as organising posters, tickets and support from school staff, so it is important for the lead officer to find a group who they can work closely with and delegate to.

Discos officer

We hold a disco every term and they are incredibly popular – the children have a chance to spend pocket money on tuck, glitter, temporary tattoos and they generally have a great time on the dance floor. We have a ‘resident DJ’ so as soon as the dates are agreed with the school you book him in and liaise with the tuck officer for the all-important tuck stall. There is a bank of risk assessments ready to adapt for discos too. You would also help to find parent volunteers broken down into the infant and junior discos but it is never a struggle finding people to help for this event!

Gift stalls officer

At Christmas, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day we run gift stalls where the children can pick presents for their loved ones and they really enjoy doing this. Our gift stalls officer is always on the lookout for bargains and keeps track of what gifts we have ready to sell. They also help coordinate volunteers and ensure that everything is wrapped (wrapping happens in advance and on the day). We do have an offsite storage option for the items that are bought throughout the year and as with the tuck, our treasurers are amazing at immediately reimbursing any spending you have to do.

Christmas officer

Christmas is a big one as there are several parts to this, so ideally we would have a few officers working together to coordinate all of the events. There is the chocolate stall at Coggeshall Christmas, a raffle and a Christmas Fayre, which includes a grotto. The biggest task is to coordinate volunteers across the multiple events – you definitely can’t run everything alone! However, these are some of our more popular events to get involved in so finding someone to run a stall for an hour across each event often isn’t too hard.

Other officers

Whether you want to provide general support or just be part of the committee to learn the ropes and get more experience, we are always looking for extra officers on the committee who can chip in or step up if another person needs some help. We have a few general officers at the moment and they help put together spreadsheets of volunteers for events, wrangle volunteers, organise extra activities, get posters put up and more.