Why do you hate the PTA?

If they can afford to piss money away on ipads, they have enough funding.

I really do not like tablets being used in primary schools.

Why on earth did you spend £5 on biscuits??
That was your choice.

Omg this, I spent £5 on biscuits for the raffle then had to buy raffle tickets for £5!!!

The favouritism - towards the other parents on it and mostly the children of those on it.

Never ever? Not even secondary?
That's quite unusual.
I mean back in my ancient days of primary school (1980s) it was a teacher in the corner with a record player and we mostly ran around the hall.....

I never had a single school disco at my primary school and yet I still look back with fondness on what I consider to be a very happy childhood.

Perhaps they’ll put it on my gravestone - “had a happy life but could’ve done with a few more school discos”…

The forum for getting involved in decisions is go to committee meetings

100% this for me too.

Yes, let's not give children social events or fun. Let's just send them in with £1 and explain it's to buy 0.1% of a whiteboard.

How do you know no-one wants it. Have u asked em all?

@PuppyMonkey I think the children would be "bothered" if there wasn't a disco or school fete.
Not all children enjoy them but the vast majority do.

@Bushmillsbabe many schools don't actually use the term "PTA" officially. They are registered charities known as "Friends of School Name".
The problem is many parents don't really understand what "Friends of" is so they get referred to as the "PTA" to make it easier.
@FKAT I don't think it's a USA term. It was in use (in England at least) when I was at Primary back in the 80s.
My school called it the PTA. The Catholic school next door called their the PTFA (F for Friends).

I think I feel the same way I do about the PTA as those three hour work meetings that could have been an email.

If the school really needs a fundraising thing, the school could send a good email out asking for donations and setting out clearly how the money will be used. The kids come in with £1 or whatever it is and it goes straight towards the thing. I know that means parents and kids would miss out on a PTA disco or a school fete, but really.. would anybody be that bothered?

The PTA should have a financial report that is audited annually and presented at a yearly Annual General Meeting anyway.

Because they don’t communicate. They make annoying decisions without ever sense checking with the rest of the parents around what they’d want, both in terms of fundraising ideas and spending.

Im sick of bake sales and ice cream vans - I want my kids to have teeth by the end of primary school!

Sounds like a lot of fund-raisers, we've said many times that rather the=an cater for a poorly attended Church coffee morning by baking, providing raffle prizes etc we could all just thrown £30 into the kitty and still be in profit. It's fun to see the seriously hideous raffle prizes circulating, one I gave, having won it elsewhere, is still doing the rounds 5 years later!

our PTA are lovely. They do some fab events and communicate well.

What I do like about them is that they’re are non pushy and not OTT. Probably not the case for many though

I ended up not hating but being annoyed with the PTA:
volunteered to help at a Christmas fete (Saturday) - they had been going in and on about needing more people
As I was working full time my weekends were v v full with catching up on things so I reorganised my weekend cramming as much as possible into the Friday evening / night.
Turned up on the Saturday morning - to be told ‘oh don’t worry you’re not needed’
I felt like I was back at the school - not in the cool girls’ gang!

I do donate money but it doesn't let me off from being included in the requests for volunteers and it would be a bit distasteful if it did tbh. They would need to start saying something like "we welcome all help whether that is volunteering, donations or participation in events". Instead at our school you just get a whatsapp asking what cake you are supplying and what shifts you are going to do at what stall. I just ignore them now, I did it for years.

Do other schools not have direct giving programmes? Both my kids schools encourage monthly direct debits to support the school. If you want to give money just do that.

The PTA will have a bank account. I am sure they wouldn't turn down cash donations.
we have a couple of parents and one nearby resident (non parent) who have contacted us and set up standing orders

But that's just stating a fact. We can't do events without helpers. And often people are cross if we don't manage to run them
We had to cancel an event at short notice last week, purely due to a lack of helpers

It's the forced teaming I resent. If you're going to buy new stuff for the school I guess my kids will end up using it, it's not like I can really opt out of that - so then if I don't want to feel like a useless ingrate I have to show and help, and I really, really don't want to. So I guess to the OP I would say give people different ways of contributing including contributing cash and try not to arrange events that will keave kids disappointed if their parents can't come? Do that and I would have no problems with the PTA.

Sorry, that should have been socially successful.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with the point you are making. But accept that this is the experience you have had. Lots of children with Mum's who volunteer at school don't do well socially. I don't think it's universally as insulating from issues as you describe. I do disagree. Only because I have seen or been involved in many schools and PTAs from different capacities. My friends child has a rough time socially. She's PTA plus lots of other things.

I think it is important to recognise that parents and children may seek and feel this community in other aspects of their life. There are some people who find centering your child's identity/socialising largely around school/school friends potentially problematic. Lots of children rub along and enjoy school perfectly well without their parents being centred in and driving their social interactions. I do agree about the importance of belonging and environment. The PTA is an important function. Any child with parents who are invested however they see fit get a head start. It's not exclusive to Mums who are active in school volunteering.

Constant pressure like - 'we can't do this event without helpers' and 'out of all you people someone must be able to help'