BACK CHAT – AGMs
Give 21 days’ notice An AGM has to be held once a year and all
members of the association should be invited to attend – your governing document should state when in the year the AGM should be held. It is best practice to give at least 21 days’ written notice of an AGM to all members. This notice should explain the purpose of the AGM, give the order of business and include a reply slip seeking nominations for election to the committee. Use all means available to notify members.
Keep it short! Keep the order
of business as succinct as possible – this isn’t a regular committee meeting, just a summary of activities, where members approve the accounts and elect trustees. The shortest AGM we have come across lasted just seven minutes! Any supporting information – a breakdown of income and expenditure, for example – can be made available for interested parties.
You need to form a quorum
A quorum is the minimum number that must attend a meeting for decisions to be made properly. Your governing document should specify the required number of attendees. To boost attendance, make sure everyone knows the date well in advance. Combine the AGM with a school event such as a six-weeks-in meeting in October or run it before a PTA event (though the AGM must be free to attend). Ask your Headteacher to promote the benefi ts of the PTA and encourage attendance. Ask committee members and class reps to each bring two people along.
Elect (or re-elect) committee members
Committee members are usually elected for a year then stand down at the next AGM. There is nothing to prevent them from standing again, but they would need to be re-elected. The best way to do this is to have a vote of those present at the meeting, with each nominated person needing to secure a majority of the votes cast. Where this is competitive, ask those standing to leave the room while the vote takes place. If it is close or contentious it may be better to conduct a written ballot, with the results being carefully recorded.
Minute the meeting
You should keep accurate minutes of all meetings. They don’t need to be word-for-
word, but should include: the name of your PTA; the type of meeting; the date and time; the names of those in attendance;
who chaired the meeting; what capacity people
attended in, such as trustee, ordinary member (i.e. parent), school staff;
any absences for agenda items due to confl icts of interest;
apologies for absence. The minutes of an AGM should record exactly what was agreed and will usually be made available to all members, perhaps by uploading them to the school website.
What is a constitution?
Your constitution is the document that details the rules and regulations by which your association should be run (also called the governing document). All PTAs should have a constitution. PTA UK offers its members a ‘model constitution’, which embodies best practice for PTAs. The Charity Commission also provides guidance on preparing a governing document. If you can’t locate a copy of your constitution, and your PTA is a registered charity, it may be available from the Charity Commission for England and Wales. For more information, visit
charitycommission.gov.uk.
58 AUTUMN 2017
pta.co.uk
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AGMS
Don’t be daunted by the prospect of your Annual General Meeting...
IMAGES: MNY-JHEE; GOIR/
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