AGENDA
ASK THE EXPERT FREE STUFF You only have to ask!
PTAs often benefit from the kindness of local and national businesses. Here are a few examples we’ve come across recently: l Raffle prizes: Many national chains will donate a voucher. Try Boden
charity@boden.co.uk, Jojo Maman Bebe
pr@jojomamanbebe.co.uk or Wilko
corporate.wilko.com/ stories/
togetherforcommunities.php l Leftover stock: Ask discount outlets such as Poundland for prizes to use in a secret gift shop, lucky dip or goodie bags l Ice: Try McDonald’s if you need ice for your events l Bread and bread rolls: Contact Warburtons at
warburtons.co. uk/our-company/sustainability/within-the-community/ giving-donating/product-donation/ l Building materials: B&Q’s Community Reuse scheme offers unsaleable building materials free to good causes
diy.com/ corporate/waste-donation l Wood chip: Tree surgeons may have surplus wood chip that can be used for outdoor and gardening projects l Reduced price materials: Ask builders’ merchants for a discount l Paint: The Community Repaint scheme, sponsored by Dulux, donates cut-price paint made up from leftovers
communityrepaint.org.uk/need-paint/ l Supermarkets: Most supermarkets have an in-store community champion who can help with donations and prizes for local charities.
Natasha’s Law and
food labelling I’ve heard that Natasha’s Law came into force towards the end of last year, but what is it and how does it affect my PTA?
Ben Rayner from the Food Standards Agency says: You’re not legally required to provide information about allergens unless you’re registered as a food business. The new law applies to pre- packed for direct sale (PPDS) food. PPDS food is packaged at the same place it is offered or sold to consumers, and is in this packaging before it is ordered – fruit pots, packaged sandwiches or salad boxes, for example. However, we recommend that anyone serving food gives as much information as possible, so people can make safe choices.
l Read more at
pta.co.uk/events/ planning/natashas-law-faqs/
Should we still say ‘mufti day’? WISE WORDS ‘The function of education is to teach
one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus
character – that is the goal of true education’
Martin Luther King
We used to call non-uniform day ‘mufti day’ and I never questioned it until someone from another PTA suggested I do some research. I discovered that the term ‘mufti day’ originated in British India. Off-duty soldiers dressing in robes and slippers began to refer, somewhat mockingly, to them as ‘mufti’, making fun of the Islamic scholars (also known as muftis), who wore them as ceremonial dress. Being part of a Muslim family myself, I knew what a mufti was, but I
hadn’t connected the dots. You could say that if we didn’t know then no harm was done, but that still doesn’t make it right. Our PTA changed the name to non-uniform day with absolutely no fuss – in fact our head was very encouraging and told me that other schools are making the same change – but the fact that we’d done something wrong without realising for so many years is saddening. Of course, there may be other things we’ve
missed too, but we are making the effort to be aware, to always question things and to change our behaviour once we know. Rachel Khan, chair, Friends of Culvers House, Sutton
READ MORE Turn to page 24 for more on
equality, diversity and inclusion
pta.co.uk SPRING 2022 9
IMAGES: RAUL_MELLADOA, FPETRO BEVZ, IR_STONE, ALBINA GAVRILOVIC/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
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