School Fundraising Events: A Parent's Guide to PTA Activities

I was once guilted into running a tombola stall at the summer fair. I turned up with 200 bottles and no idea what I was doing. A small child won a bottle of gin. I'm still not sure if that was allowed.

Most primary schools have a PTA (Parent Teacher Association) or Friends of the School group. They run fundraising events. Lots of them.

What Are PTA Events?

PTA events raise money for the school. That money pays for things the school budget does not cover: new playground equipment, library books, iPads, coach trips, end-of-year parties.

According to Parentkind's 2023 survey, PTAs in England raise an average of £7,000 per year. Some raise much more. Some struggle to hit £1,000.

The events are usually the same across most schools:

• Cake sales (after school, parents donate cakes, children buy them for 50p)
• Discos (after school, children pay £3-£5 to dance in the hall and eat crisps)
• Christmas or summer fair (stalls, games, tombolas, usually a Friday evening or Saturday)
• Quiz night (adults only, teams pay £5-£10, bring your own drinks)
• Sponsored events (sponsored walk, run, read, silence)
• Non-uniform days (children pay £1 to wear their own clothes, sometimes themed)
• Second-hand uniform sales (usually at the start of term)

How Much Involvement Is Expected?

None, technically. The PTA is voluntary. No one has to join. No one has to help.

In practice, there's a low-level guilt factor. If you never donate a cake, never volunteer for a stall, and never turn up to anything, you'll probably feel bad about it.

Most parents do one or two things a year: donate a cake, man a stall for an hour, turn up to the fair with a tenner.

The PTA committee (chair, treasurer, secretary) does the heavy lifting. They organise everything, chase donations, book bouncy castles, count cash, fill in risk assessments. It's a lot of work.

If you have time and energy, they're always looking for help. If you do not, turning up and spending money is also helpful.

How Much Should You Spend?

Whatever you can afford. There's no obligation.

A disco ticket is usually £3-£5. A cake at a cake sale is 50p. A strip of raffle tickets is £1. Your child will want to play every game at the fair, which adds up fast.

Some families spend £20 at the summer fair. Some spend £2. Both are fine.

How to Keep Track of What's When

PTA events are announced in school newsletters, on the school app, on the PTA Facebook page, and sometimes on posters at the school gate.

This means the information is everywhere and nowhere.

You'll get a reminder the week before the disco. You'll get a letter about the summer fair three weeks in advance. You'll find out about the cake sale the day before because someone mentions it in the playground.

The trick is centralising it. I use My School Agent to extract event details from school emails and add them to my daily briefing, so I know what's coming up without having to check three different apps and a Facebook group.