Harbord P&C is a registered charity...

  • Our little not-for-profit business turns over more than $2.5m per year!

    In the last few years, the P&C has donated almost half a million dollars back into the school.

  • Harbord P&C interesting facts;

    • The P&C represents the voice of Parents back to the school and visa versa
    • The P&C runs the Canteen, OOSH and the Uniform Shop
    • The P&C has various committees and a fundraising teams – all lead by volunteer parents
    • In only the last few years, the P&C has donated almost half a million dollars back into the school for initiatives we care about.

  • What is a P&C Association?

    Parents and Citizens (P&C) Associations are vital not-for-profit organisations supporting public schools in New South Wales. All P&C Associations are governed under the umbrella of the P&C Federation of NSW.

    P&Cs are a group consisting of parents and citizens in a school community, whose purpose is to assist the school and promote the interests of the entire school community.

    The Education Act 1990 lays out the objectives of a P&C Association:

    1. to promote the interests of the school by bringing parents, citizens, students and teaching staff into close co-operation, and
    2. to assist in providing facilities and equipment for the school and in promoting the recreation and welfare of the students at the school, and
    3. to encourage parent and community participation in curriculum and other education issues in schools where there is no school council.

  • What do P&C Associations do?

    P&C Associations work in close partnership with their school to achieve the best possible outcomes for students and other stakeholders in the school community. P&C Associations typically consult with the parent community, students, and school staff to identify the main needs of the school, and plan accordingly how best to meet those needs.

    Some common things P&C Associations do to support their school may include:

    • Operating the school canteen, school uniform shop, outside school hours care, or school band program.
    • Providing equipment, resources and facilities to the school.
    • Applying for grants or fundraising to cover the costs of a project at the school.
    • Hosting events ranging from fetes, market days, discos, and many more.
    • Running a school building fund for the construction or maintenance of a school building.
    • Supplying a parent representative on merit selection panels for vacant jobs at the school, or sitting on tender panels to select a provider or business to operate on school grounds.

  • What rules do P&C Associations come under?

    Under the Education Act 1990, the NSW Minister for Education must approve the constitution of P&C Associations. The Minister has approved two constitutions:

    1. The Prescribed Constitution, for P&C Associations incorporated under the Parents and Citizens Associations Incorporation Act 1976
    2. The Standard Constitution, for unincorporated P&C Associations.

    .

    Harbord P&C is an Incorporated P&C meaning the Association is a separate legal entity from it's members, and this allows us to own property, enter contracts, employ staff, apply for grants and run businesses with appropriate liability in place. It also means we require appropriate governance, regulations, registrations, auditing and reporting which entails additional administration, insurances and costs.

  • Where can I find out more?

    The P&C Federation of NSW provides governance and guidance to Harbord P&C directly and issues templates, rules and other general documentation which govern how we run the Association. Office Bearers take compliance, governance and confidentiality very seriously. As the largest P&C in the state, with 900+ students at school, Harbord P&C has to run slightly differently than a school which has 150 students in regional NSW (for example) - broadly this means greater governance and procedural need to ensure the safety of the children, our staff, volunteers and security of $3+ million dollars of assets and funds each year.

    You can review some of the governance, compliance, rules and guidelines here. If you would like to know more, please contact the secretary or use the contact us webform.

  • Please remember....

    Our core values are kindness, cooperation, collaboration, support and positivity. Whilst running the Association is a serious responsibility, the P&C Committee are all volunteers including the President and office bearers. We ask all the community to be mindful of this when engaging with each other and we thank you so much for your support.
Become a member

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Funds expenditure

Spend over $250 is required to be a "motion" which is voted on during a P&C meeting. Any P&C member can vote, majority wins.

    1. New books for the library
    2. New decodable readers for K-2
    3. New sporting equipment and team kits
    4. The new Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA)
    5. Kindy playground equipment replacement
    6. Managed negotiations with the council for changes to road/pedestrian safety around the school
    7. Funding of air-con units in year 2 block
    8. Classroom furniture upgrades
    9. School grounds renovations which are ongoing
    10. Facilitated bike policy review by the school
    11. Audit of solar panels and assessment of educational opportunities through our renewable energy
    12. Implementing sustainability measures to encourage students to bring less waste to school, reduce plastics, landfill and improve recycling facilities. 
    13. Every year we also buy small thank you gifts and fund Christmas thank you events for school staff & committee members. 

WHO RUNS THE P&C?

Whilst the P&C has a number of fantastic paid staff who work for OOSH, the Canteen and the Uniform Shop, a small group of Volunteer parents actually manage the overall running of the P&C business and without those parents, OOSH, the Canteen and Uniform shop would have to be privatised.

The President has the overall responsibility of the P&C Association business and all three of the sub-entities. 

The work is extremely rewarding for those who are passionate about their area of expertise.

We warmly invite families to be an active member of our school community, by officially joining the P&C and becoming involved in the committee.

Each year children graduate from the school, with them we also lose P&C members and Executive Committee members, along with all their knowledge and experience.

It’s imperative that new parents join us, to pitch in, to voice opinions, to represent the new cohort of classes and to find future parents who will pick up the mantle of roles within the Executive Committee, such as President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary etc.

We also sometimes just need helpful hands and good ideas!

Your time is precious and none of us are idle! The more help we have, the less the burden on others. Plus, we're a friendly bunch...

Will you jump in and join us?

Ready to pay your 50 cent annual fee, to be eligible to vote? Sign up here! 
Information on our monthly meetings here.

 

 

Be an active part of the community

Become a MemberWhen are the meetings?

Alone we can do so little; Together we can do so much.

- Helen Keller

Our Committee