PTA Podcast

In my Chair's Chat today, I am talking to Firyal about her PTA experiences in a large primary school in London. Firyal is passionate about creating a sense of community at her school, especially when it comes to her volunteers. She talks about how supportive her school is and about the many events her PTA organises throughout the year.  Do you want to talk to me on the PTA Podcast about being...

In this episode, I share my PTA philosophy on why social events are crucial to the success of your fundraising overall. By social events, I mean any event which brings people together in a shared physical space. It reinforces the sense of community that you want your parents and children to feel at your school. If you want to fundraise from a community, you first need to create that community. So...

In this second Chair's Chat, I discuss being a PTA Chair with Vikki who has been part of her PTA for a few years at a larger school in Northamptonshire.  Vikki generously shares her tips on creating a relationship with your local estate agent and how to ask them for sponsorship for your PTA. She also talks about how to manage logistics in such a large school, such as how to manage donations f...

Wow -  this is my 50th episode! :0) Thank you so much to everyone who listens to my podcast - drop me a line to tell me what you have found interesting or useful, and if you want any topics to be covered in future episodes - hello@ptapocast.com In this episode, I share a few ideas that you could use if your PTA or school does not want to link any fundraising with Halloween - they are my non-Hallow...

Welcome to this episode where we review the first book from the PTA Podcast Virtual book Club - The Hive! Warning - there are spoilers in this episode as I discuss the whole book without reservation! I did enjoy this book and my listeners have voted it 7.5 stars out of 10 so quite a good rating for our first book. Come and see what other listeners thought of the story - did they agree with your vi...

This is the first in a new series for my podcast called Chair's Chat! In this first Chair's Chat, I discuss PTA life with Richard, who has been a PTA Chair for 4 years up in the north-west at a large primary school. Richard has so many gems of wisdom that he has generously shared with me about how he has tried to overcome lack of volunteers and how he has tried to create a community at a...

Welcome to another new school year! What goals do you want to have for your PTA this year? I have some ideas for you on how you could bring a focus to your year. Maybe this is the year when you finally achieve that fundraising event you have always wanted to try, perhaps you might choose to improve your PTA communications or maybe this is the year that you finally clean out the PTA cupboard! Whate...

In this episode, I chat to my friend Liz about her experience with our village celebrations in 2012 for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Liz volunteered to lead the team despite having no prior experience and ran a year-long programme of fundraising activities culminating in a day of celebration on the Jubilee itself. There are many crossovers with PTA life here as Liz talks about finding volunte...

Hi PTA Podcast listeners, I wanted to let you know about a new series of episodes coming this September (2026). I have spent the summer talking to other PTA Chairs about their experiences and they have been fascinating conversations. It's been so interesting to hear how PTAs manage in larger and smaller schools, what events they run, how they plan their year and what their relationship is lik...

In this episode, I chat to Elliot from the National Festival Circus who explains everything you ever needed to know about having a circus as a fundraiser at your school. With over 40 years experience of helping schools and PTAs, this circus team has really thought carefully about how to make things easy - no large vehicles, on and off your school field the same day, and they don't even need P...

In this episode, I talk about the dreaded subject of the weather and how weather-anxiety is a real thing if you are part of a PTA volunteer team! I acknowledge that we have no control over the weather so focus on things PTAs can control. I talk you through formulating a weather plan in advance and how helpful this can be. Then we look at 4 weather types (rain, sun, snow and wind) and how they can...

In this episode, I share some ideas about stalls you could use as part of an event which generate 100% profit for your PTA. I have grouped them into 3 loose categories - donation stalls, existing equipment stalls and home-made stalls. I have a few recommendations based on stalls I have organised before, and some tips for you. Some of these are also easy to set up at short notice, so if you have so...

In this episode, I talk about why secondhand books sales are a great addition to your PTA funding, whether you have them as a standalone event or as a stall at a larger event. I have a few creative ideas for you about how to lay out your display and how to arrange the books to try and maximise the profits and freshen up your sale. A secondhand book sale is such an easy stall to run and as most boo...

In this episode, I share my experience of attending two quizzes each run by a different PTA. I talk through how the evenings were organised and highlight the similarities and difference between the two events. Then, I chat through some top tips taken from the quiz nights I attended with some extra ideas.  Do drop me an email to tell me what your PTA is up to - hello@ptapodcast.com Please rate and...

I'm talking to you from my car this episode as a shout out to other parents who have to wait for their child to finish a club! This episode is a catch-up about my World Book Day plus the announcement that our PTA Podcast virtual Book Club has now started! Our first book is The Hive by Gill Hornby. Sign up to my mailing list on my website to keep up to date with the Book Club, as I will let yo...

In this episode, I share my experience (and love!) for Treasure Hunts! I have created a number of different treasure hunts or scavenger hunts over the years, and I think they are a versatile and exciting activity to add into your fundraising calendar. Give one a try this year if you haven't done one before - you can fit them to a theme, they don't need many volunteers and they are so muc...

In this short episode, I share a marketing idea with you - a different way that you can send out messages to parents. Instead of sending out more blocks of text, try and entice your parents to make small changes to support your PTA by focussing on the numbers! Listen to this episode to find out more. Please rate and review my podcast so other lovely PTA volunteers can find it too!  Check out my we...

Welcome to 2026! This episode is quick catch-up from me - I give you a brief update on my PTA activities from December and my plans going forward. I also pull out my highlights from the recent issue of the School Fundraising Magazine which has just been published (Spring 2026 issue). There are some great ideas in here for Easter fundraising and STEM activities. You can find a link to a digital cop...

Welcome to the PTA Podcast Book Club! This is just a little episode to introduce you to some PTA books that I will be talking about on my podcast. I have found some books which mention PTAs as part of their plot and I thought it would be fun to discuss and review them. I would love you to join me in reading and then reviewing the books - just sign up to my mailing list to take part and receive all...

Would you like to explore making grant applications a bit more? Or try reaching out to local businesses? Then this is the episode for you! In this episode, I chat to Richard Manville, the managing director of Community Inspired. His social enterprise runs the PTA+ website https://www.pta.co.uk/ , School Fundraising magazine https://www.pta.co.uk/magazine/current-issue/ and the FundEd website https...

This episode is split into two sections - some self-care tips for those of you feeling a bit overwhelmed with your Christmas fundraising, and then a little pep talk to remind yourself how great you are and how much your volunteering means to the children at your school. It is always such a busy time of year when you are part of a PTA, let alone all the things happening in your family life as well,...

I think a cake sale is one of the foundations of fundraising - a very simple, straightforward event which keeps the money ticking in to your PTA. In this episode, I share my experiences of cake sales over the years I have been organising them. So whether you haven't run one before or are a seasoned pro, hopefully there is something here for you.  Look out for my Cake sales Part 2 episode comi...

Have you heard about a Progressive Supper before? This is a brilliant evening event which is perfect for the winter or spring months, and combines fundraising with a way of strengthening your parent community at school. In this episode, I chat to my friends Susan and Lyn who have organised many of these evenings and have very generously shared all their top tips so you can hit the ground running i...

Welcome back to a new school year! In this episode, we have a little catch up about summer holidays and what my PTA is working on at the moment. A new edition of the School Fundraising magazine has just come out, packed full of ideas and advice so I talk through some of the articles I found interesting. Read the latest version here: https://www.pta.co.uk/ And I have started a PTA Podcast Playlist...

Please note, I can't reply to texts, but I can to emails - hello@ptapodcast.com In this episode, I give you a little catch-up on recent events with me, and announce that my son Patrick and I have published the first PTA Podcast computer game! We have made a text-based game where you can organise a summer fête for a primary school in just 10 minutes from the comfort of your own sofa! Put your...