PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS

Jane Galbraith

explains the benefits of charity status for

Parent Teacher Associations and similar bodies and offers a guide on how to achieve this

M

ANY PTAS up and down the country are happily fundraising and doing their very valuable bit for the school. But if your PTA has an income of more than £5,000 it is a legal requirement to

register as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Applying for charitable status simply

acknowledges that the PTA is already acting charitably and yes, charity law does still apply to all PTAs yet to register. So there is nothing for you to lose. The 2009 National Confederation of Parent

Teacher Association (NCPTA) annual member survey confirmed that PTAs are doing even better than ever, despite the difficult economic conditions. The average PTA now raises £6,000 with an impressive 18 per cent of NCPTA’s 13,400 members reporting that they contribute an amazing £10,000 or more. This profit means many PTAs are indeed exceeding

the £5,000 income threshold and are legally required to register as a charity with the Commission. Over 70 per cent of NCPTA members are already benefiting from charitable status, which is the best public badge to clearly state that what they are doing is for the benefit of others. The vast majority of PTAs will meet the requirements

to register as a charity, as PTAs are usually set up with the charitable objective of advancing education. Registering as a charity gives a strong message about the professional standard to which your PTA works,

Union address: ASCL

Don’t mention the ‘F’ word

Education funding is the elephant in the room for the

new government, says

Dr John Dunford

WRITING A column just before the most contested general election in 30 years, to be published when the voting dust has settled, presents a considerable challenge. Whoever wins the election, however, promises to introduce an Education Bill in the first term of the new Parliament. Here we go again. Whether it is the Conservatives introducing new

rules for academy status for outstanding schools, the Liberal Democrats bringing in an Education Freedom Act, or Labour returning to its pupil and parent guarantees, we are facing yet more legislation. The elephant in the room during the election

campaign was funding, or the lack of it in the short and medium term. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) accused all three of the main political parties of failing to come clean over the extent of public sector cuts after the election. The days of plenty for schools are nearly over.

And, in comparison to the past and (so it appears) the future, the last 10 years or so have indeed been a time of plenty. After 20 years of neglect, school buildings and equipment have improved markedly and staffing (especially support staffing) has increased considerably. Labour has told us that they will protect school

budgets, but this is dependent on “efficiency savings” which many regard as a euphemism for “cuts”. The Liberal Democrats have promised to introduce

a pupil premium, which we strongly welcome, to support the education of disadvantaged children, and they have identified funding that will be transferred from non-school budgets for this. However, the need to identify many billions more of savings, as the IFS suggests, may curb Lib Dem ambitions.

The pupil premium is also supported by the

Conservatives, although they have not said where the money is coming from, and a version of the same policy is implicit in Labour’s plans to introduce fairer, better targeted funding for disadvantage. Much as we would like to see a national funding

entitlement with a premium for disadvantage, it will be very difficult to introduce at a time of declining national funding. Heads and teachers are optimists by nature and

so we should also note that, at the same time as we are absorbing the IFS report, we learn of the greatly increased value of the 41 per cent public owned Lloyds Banking Group. This suggests that, if the government holds its nerve and sells Lloyds back to the private sector at the right moment, the problem gap in the public finances will be reduced by billions. I tried to keep relatively quiet during the election

campaign and let the parties fight it out. If asked to comment, I referred journalists to the ASCL election manifesto – our proactive view of what should happen to education policy. In that way, ASCL maintains its independence of all political parties. However, I was so frustrated at the failure of John

Humphrys on the Today programme to ask Michael Gove the necessary questions on the funding of the Conservatives’ parent-run schools that I started (for the first, and probably the last, time) a blog. We must ask what the effect will be on other state

schools of funding lots of parent-run small schools, which will inevitably have diseconomies of scale. We also must know whether local authorities will be expected to continue to have functions, such as admissions and SEN, and how they will be paid to perform them. Also, if there are many parent-run schools and lots more academies, funded outside the local authority system, will that mean that the local authorities receive less money to do the same job? With the quantum of future funding giving such

anxiety to schools, we need clarity from our new government on exactly what will, and what will not, be cut from the national schools’ budget. Efficiency savings and cutting quangos won’t do it alone.

• Dr John Dunford is the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders. Visit www.ascl.org.uk

Nothing to lose

as well as establishing a clear set of rules by which it operates.

The benefits

Registering as a charity will open many doors and will give your PTA the chance to boost its fundraising efforts and raise its profile. The PTA will also have exemption from the payment of income and corporation tax.

A registered charity number may be just what your

PTA needs to secure support from local businesses and national organisations, because it gives reassurance that your PTA is a bona fide charitable association. Some national companies that offer Payroll Giving and Matched Giving schemes will only deal with registered charities. Once registered, your PTA will be eligible to apply

to grant-making charitable trusts and foundations too, as most will only consider applications from groups formally recognised as charities.

Case study

Corbets Tey School in Essex is a special school for children with moderate and severe learning disabilities from the ages of four to 16. The school already had an indoor heated pool but

it was evident to the school’s Parents and Friends Association (PFA) that the facilities were not appropriate for the majority of the pupils. A local pool engineering company recommended

drastic action to make the pool suitable for the pupils’ needs. The anticipated cost of the redevelopment work was £300,000, so the PFA took the decision to raise the funds by targeting a variety of grant-giving trusts, using its charitable status. This enabled the smaller, local fundraising activities

to continue, so that the project would not have a negative impact on the PFA’s ability to fund smaller projects and equipment. Using this approach, the PFA raised a huge £270,000

which, in conjunction with a further £30,000 set aside from the school’s budget, was enough for the work to commence. The hydrotherapy pool, which can also be used by the local community, was completed in April 2008.

Gift Aid it

As a registered charity your PTA has the ability to boost its income through the application of Gift Aid, which is a simple way to increase the value of charitable donations made to your PTA. If the person making the donation is a taxpayer the PTA can reclaim the tax paid on their donations to the PTA and increase its income by 25 per cent. For example, a £10 donation can be turned into

£12.50 for your PTA without costing the donor any more. In addition, HM Revenue and Customs will automatically pay your PTA a further three pence for every pound donated. This “transitional relief” – to adjust for the fall in basic rate tax from 22 to 20 per cent – is available on Gift Aid donations made from April 6, 2008, until April 5, 2011. This means that for every £10 donated, your PTA

can receive £2.80, so the total value of the donation is £12.80. The donor just needs to complete a Gift Aid declaration form agreeing to Gift Aid being claimed. Encourage all those making donations

to the PTA to appreciate the extra benefit Gift Aid will give to the fundraising efforts. Gift Aid can be claimed on any money that is given voluntarily to your PTA, for example sponsoring someone in a fun run, or responding to an appeal for school funds. However, when claiming Gift Aid no goods or services can be given in return for the donation.

12

The PTA cannot claim Gift Aid on money it raises

from charging for goods and services, for example: • The sale of Christmas cards, second-hand uniform, books, cakes and jumble sales.

• Admission to PTA events such as concerts, dances, fetes or quiz evenings.

• School fees and parental contributions towards the cost of a school trip.

• Raffles and lotteries (because people are buying the right to enter the competition).

So how does a PTA register?

To register as a charity, the PTA will need to have a constitution or governing document in place (the rules by which it is run). The NCPTA has produced a model constitution

for its members which, if adopted without change, is accepted by the Charity Commission for fast-track online charity registration which can be achieved within two weeks. This model is the most widely-used governing document in England and Wales. PTAs that have developed their own constitution

can also register, but it will take longer than the fast- track option. For more information, visit the Charity Commission website and go to the “registering as a charity” section. Do not be concerned if your PTA should have

registered previously as its annual income has been higher than the current £5,000 threshold. The Commission is keen for all eligible PTAs to register; it will not take action against PTAs registering now which have not done so before.

Public benefit

As a result of the Charities Act 2006, all charities must have charitable purposes or aims that are for the public benefit. This is known as the “public benefit requirement”. Any charity seeking to register with the Charity

Commission will be asked to explain how its aims are carried out for the public benefit. NCPTA has been working closely with the Charity Commission to make this as easy as possible for its member PTAs and has agreed a set of descriptions of typical PTA activities that show how a PTA’s aims are carried out for the public benefit. So there you have it, registering as a charity is

relatively straightforward and with the help of NCPTA, working in conjunction with the Charity Commission, your PTA could soon be enjoying the benefits of its new charitable status and the additional fundraising avenues it can explore.

SecEd

• Jane Galbraith is membership development manager of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTA)

Further information

NCPTA is a national charity and membership organisation currently supporting 13,400 PTAs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For more information visit www.ncpta.org.uk or call the NCPTA Advice Line on 0173 237 5460. For the Charity Commission, visit www. charitycommission.gov.uk

SecEd • May 13 2010 Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16