1. Hold a Bake Sale once a month and get each class to take it in turns throughout the school year. Or double up and get a Key Stage 1 class to work with a Key Stage 2 class. We had quite a big school so we had one stall in KS1 playground and one stall in KS2 playground.
2. The class that is reponsible for that months Bake Sale make all the cakes (or buy them from a shop, there is no shame in shop bought cakes and for many people it's a LOT easier to do than making from scratch!), set up, man/woman the stall and clear away at the end of the day.
3. We had a Class Rep system at our school whereby each class had a parent/carer representative. Those Reps met with the Headteacher once a half term and was a really good line of communication. This was organised through the school, however we asked the Class Reps to be responsible for organising the Bake Sale when it was their classes turn and it worked really well. Let's face it, it's just once or twice a year!
4. We found that Fridays (straight after school) were the most popular day to run a Bake Sale.
5. Publicise the Bake Sales in the school newsletter, Facebook Page if you have one and a laminated poster on the school gates on the Monday before (if you have more than one entrance then put a poster on each gate!).
6. Get your pricing right and don't make it too complicated! Think carefully about what parents at your school can afford. We charged 30p a cake or 4 for £1 which in hindsight was too complicated and probably a bit to cheap (some parents got upset that their beautiful home made cakes were sold off cheap). For the area we live in I think that 50p a cake and 3 for a £1 is a better pricing structure but it really depends on your individual school!
7. Encourage parents to make/buy individual cakes. With large cakes, a sharp knife is required, can get messy and takes a bit longer to serve.
8. Always have a clearly labelled float and instructions in a tin. This should be locked away in the school safe and the Class Reps should be advised where the can collect the float from. This means that a PTA member won't have to be at every Bake Sale!
9. Encourage families to bring in their baked/bought goods on the morning of the Bake Sale. That way if donations are lighter than expected the Class Rep can put a call out for more donations via WhatsApp or Facebook.
10. Our PTA raised a lot of money buy raffling off a large homemade cake. The Class Rep would ask a parent/carer in their class to donate a large cake. On the 3 days before the Bake Sale the Class Rep would ask for volunteers from their class (or do it themselves) to sell tickets at the playground entrances at drop off and pick up. We charged £1 a ticket and frequently raised at least £200 every Bake Sale by doing this! By being present at the school gates you are also acting as a reminder that there will be a Bake Sale on Friday!
11. If your school is a nut free school then remind parents via the newsletter to ensure that cakes are nut free.
12. Ask a local supermarket to donate paper bags. Some people may want to buy lots of cakes but it they don't have a bag/box to take them home in then they won't buy! So ask your local supermarket to donate paper bags or to be enviromentally friendly remind parents to bring in their reusable containers to transport the baked goods so they survive the journey home!
13. Don't forget to buy your own kids a cake before they all disappear (afterall you deserve a treat for all yourhard work!) 😋
Written by Fran Gubbay
(Co Founder and Owner of Stamptastic)
and former PTA Chairperson
p.s if you want to get all fancy you could use one of our Customised Baking Stamps to add a real flourish to your home made goodies 🍰
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