Affiliated committees are not committees of a council – they are independent. They are a group of parents who support the school and are legally bound by the Education and Children's Services Act 2019. They have their own constitution.

Although they work independently, you might find you'll work closely with them on different tasks for your site (school or preschool).

Getting the local community involved

When your site needs to hold specific events, an affiliated committee could help with:

• fundraising
• holding forums
• holding 'meet and greets' to welcome parents, or help people learn about your site
• catering events
• running craft days or covering books for the library
• holding an information session for someone who wants to be on the council.

Affiliated committees can also help with ongoing involvement. Each community’s needs will be different, but some ideas include:

• getting parents and friends involved by having:
  • multicultural working groups
  • advocacy groups for students with special needs
  • sports clubs
• parent liaison and feedback – via a parents and friends committee
• connecting people – make friends and create a sense of community.

How to find out if your site needs an affiliated committee

If your site is considering an affiliated committee to help with specific needs, the site leader can start by surveying your local community.

Representing affiliated committees on your council

For each affiliated committee at your site, there should be 1 person on your council, but there can’t be more than 3. 

Affiliated committees finances

For instructions on how to run the affiliated committee’s finances, see the affiliated committees finances webpage.