It’s that time of year for most Parent Associations – time for the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The AGM is an important event, but needn’t be daunting or overly formal. In fact, it is important to keep it friendly, as it is often the first P&C meeting that parents attend, so make sure you allow time for everyone to introduce themselves. If you're struggling to get parents along, how about a bit of fun and a lucky door prize?

It is also a great time to let parents know what the P&C is about so that they will want to continue to be involved. Recapping the P&C’s achievements over the past 12 months can be a great way to showcase the value you add to the school (use our template for a quick President's Report).

Preparing for the AGM

To get ready, work through our AGM preparation checklist. The checklist has links through to help on each task. 

At the AGM

Your P&C's constitution will outline what your AGM must cover, but these are the essential tasks at the meeting.

• Report on the past year. The president’s report can be simply a short monologue about the wonderful things the P&C did last year or a more formal, written report (use our template to help) which you circulate before the meeting (that way more people see it) and refer to at the meeting.
• Pass the minutes of last year’s AGM.
• Present the year’s financial accounts and pass them as accepted by the meeting. (The accounts must have been signed off by an auditor at least two weeks prior to the meeting.)
• Form a new committee and fill other volunteer positions. There should be a nomination process for committee members (you can use our sample nomination and declaration form) to ensure candidates meet the legal requirements for eligibility. 

There is more detail on our AGM Information Sheet and we also have templates for your AGM agenda, minutes, and reports.

After the AGM

Afterwards, there are some essential tasks (some are legal requirements), as outlined on our To Do list.