PTA

Oatlands Infants PTA

Bringing our school community together

We’re the parents, carers, teachers (and the occasional grandparent with the best cake recipes!) who keep the fun, the fundraising, and the friendships alive. If you’ve ever baked a bun, danced at a disco, or cheered at the Fun Run — you’re already PTA.

📧 Contact us: oatlandsinfantspta@yahoo.co.uk

What is the PTA?

The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is a group of parents/carers and staff who work together to build community, support the school and raise funds for resources and experiences that benefit all children. Membership is automatic for all parents/carers with children at the school — no sign-up needed.

Our collaborative spirit extends beyond our school gates, as we occasionally work together with the Junior School PTA for joint events.

Why We Love Being PTA ❤️

Because PTA support helps the school provide extras — events, resources and experiences — that make a real difference to children’s learning and enjoyment. It’s also about friendships, laughter, and making memories together as a community.

Where Your £ Goes (and Why it Matters)

Funds raised go straight back into the school to enhance the learning environment and children’s experiences. We publish updates through PTA meetings and newsletters, so you can always see the impact of your involvement. You can also see many of our events on the school's Instagram account @Oatlands_Infants

How We’re Organised

The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) is a registered charity.

The PTA has a committee (Chair/Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer) and works with Class Representatives for each class. Meetings are open to everyone — come along, listen in, share ideas and get involved. You don’t need a title to take part — just enthusiasm!

Class Reps
Each class has its own Class Representative(s), and this can be a shared role. Class Reps are the vital bridge between families and the PTA, making sure that every parent is connected, informed, and able to take part in school life. They help share news about events and meetings, gather feedback, and encourage involvement across the year group.

We deeply value the commitment of our committee members and Class Reps. Their time, energy and support make a lasting difference in strengthening our school community and enriching every child’s experience at Oatlands.

Meet the Team (photos to come, to help you spot us on the playground!)

Our committee:

• Co-Chair: Ruth

• Co-Chair : Emilia

• Vice-Chair: Gemma

• Treasurer: Catherine

• Secretary: Andreea

You’ll often seen us around school – please do say hello!

How You Can Be a PTA Hero

There are so many fun ways to join in — no matter how much (or little) time you have:

• Volunteer at events – set-up, stalls, refreshments, tidy-up.

•  Join a working group – discos, fairs, quiz nights, uniform sales.

• Offer your skills – design, printing, photography, copywriting, sponsorship links.

• Donate pre-loved uniform or raffle prizes.

• Come to meetings – share your ideas and get involved.

Even 30 minutes makes a difference!

Second-Hand Uniform 👕

We have a variety of pre-loved uniform items available to purchase at affordable prices. Pre-orders can be placed through your class reps on the last Monday of each month. Orders will be in reception for collection later that week. 

Typical prices include:

• Crested cardigans/jumpers: £3 and above

• Crested polo shirts: £2 and above

You can donate good-condition crested items via the school office.

Our Impact at a Glance

Here are just a few examples of the PTA magic we’ve made happen recently:

• Rock Kidz Day – a high-energy day of music and confidence building

• World Book Day workshops – inspiring children to dive into reading

• In-school theatre productions – bringing stories and learning to life

• School library renovation - providing a comfortable and welcoming space to foster a positive culture of reading for pleasure

• Travelling Planetarium visit – a journey through the stars without leaving school

• Books for classrooms and the school library - helping the children to travel to new worlds through amazing literature

• Transport for school trips – making exciting adventures possible

And much more!

Get Involved Today!

Got 30 minutes? That’s all it takes to be a PTA hero. You can email us at oatlandsinfantspta@yahoo.co.uk with ideas or suggestions, catch us on the playground, or simply stop for a chat — we’re always happy to talk to everyone.

Get Involved! Together, we enrich every child’s experience — in school and beyond.

Have a look at some of our events:

YEAR 1 & YEAR 2 VALENTINE’S DISCOS

Despite the snow, our school's PTA discos went ahead after half term, and the children had a fantastic time dancing with their friends.

These lively events took place during the last two weeks of February, creating unforgettable memories for our Year 1 and Year 2 children.

A massive thank you goes out to all the teachers for their invaluable assistance during the evenings, ensuring everything ran smoothly. A special thank you also goes to Rascals for providing the entertainment that kept our young dancers grooving all night long!

QUIZ & CHIPS

On Friday evening, April 19th, our PTA brought back the beloved Quiz and Chips event, where eager parents tested their general knowledge in a spirited quiz competition.

The evening was filled with friendly competition and camaraderie as teams went head to head.

Attendees enjoyed delicious fish and chips from Oatlands Fisheries, complemented by a well-stocked bar provided by the PTA.

We're thrilled to announce that the event was a tremendous success, raising an outstanding £700 in profit.

A big congratulations to the winning team, Les Enfants Terribles, for their impressive performance!

A huge shoutout to all who participated and supported this memorable evening.

Oatlands Infant School set a challenge for their pupils to run the Harrogate Junior Park Run on Sunday 1st October 2023, to raise funds for new school equipment and facilities to help the children thrive!

It was a glorious Sunday morning and all the children were full of energy and excitement ready for the briefing and warm up with the Race Director (and our very own Mr Harrison!) The children gathered patiently at the start line eagerly awaiting the siren...then they were off! Two laps of the circuit and the atmosphere was buzzing. There were lots of smiles, plenty of laughter and bucket loads of determination. It was a great achievement for all the children, their families and friends. After crossing the finish line, the children collected their medals and enjoyed their fruit treat (there were lots of juicy watermelon soaked faces!) It was a wonderful start to the day!  

In total 92 children entered the race and went home sporting their shiny 'finishers' medal.

We are grateful for all your hard work in collecting sponsorship money, please do continue to collect to help keep our school a wonderful one!! 

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help and special thanks to Harrogate Junior Park Run for letting us join in and for looking after everyone on the day!!

Another fantastic night to celebrate year 2s leavers! We all had a ball with music from Rascals Entertainment. 

A massive thank you to all the helpers and teachers.  

Thank you Ms Anderson for all your support! 

Bon voyage to you and all on your next journey. 

Onwards and Upwards! 🎈🎈🎈

On the day of Coronation, the PTA were busy with judging all the buntings that’s been submitted by the school children.  There were well over 100 entries. Winners from each year group were chosen and announced in the afternoon.  

The children sang songs to celebrate the King's Coronation, and the teachers put together a great performance. The atmosphere was made even more joyful by the decorations, including bunting designed by the school children, making it a memorable day.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the playing field selling cakes and refreshments to our parents, friends and families. 

Thank you to the PTA team for such a great afternoon! 

Our first Leavers Disco since the pandemic, what a fantastic evening!  We had over 80 children with glow sticks, balloons, dancing along with our very own DJ Dance Matt.  DJ Dance Matt was on great form, he was pumping out music from George Ezra - Shot gun, watch you wa wa wa song, followed by a famous tune from Encanto to Baby Shark.  Every child was dancing away, some were doing the splits, break dancing and street dancing!! To finish, DJ Matt played a farewell to Oatlands infant song!  It was a spectacular evening where boys and girls just embraced their time with friends, their teachers and Oatlands Infant school! 

Thank you to all the teachers and parents who helped out and made this night a memorable one! 

In October 2021, the PTA were set a fund raising challenge to raise £10,000 towards the building of a new Reception classroom with direct access to the outdoor area.

For our first challenge, the PTA organised a sponsored fun run.  The challenge was for all the children to run 2km in conjunction with Junior Park Run and raise sponsorship money or donations.  The run director sorted all the volunteers’ responsibilities on the day, all the PTA needed to do was to find 16 volunteers, source the medals and some healthy snacks, of which we chose watermelons and tangerines (tasty and refreshing).

The day started off with lovely sunshine and approximately 100 Oatlands infant children plus parents equipped with their runners’ barcode.  Everyone arrived at the Magnesia Well Cafe in Valley Gardens for 08.50 all ready for their warm ups, instructions of where to go and H&S briefing!

As the clock struck 09.00, the count down began 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 go and all the runners and parents were off!!  What a magnificent race, watching all the children giving their upmost effort, rosy cheeks and lots of smiles. They ran past the marshals, parents, friends and families who were all cheering out loud!!  Once 2 laps had been done, tokens handed out, barcodes scanned, all the runners with their parents were directed to receive their well earned medal and tasty refreshments!!

What a smashing day!! Everything went smoothly and all that’s left to do now, is to remind the children and parents to bring in their sponsor money!!

Thank you to all the volunteers, parents, families and friends for taking part and supporting Oatlands PTA.  We hope this will raise a lot of money towards our great big build project!!  But also, we hope you will join Junior Park Run again sometime in the near future. It is on every Sunday wind, rain or shine!