To think schools ask for too much parental involvement

[zozzle]

I work and am getting a bit perplexed at how much the school wants us to do in the name of the home/school partnership. Am very happy to help with DCs homework (aged 4 and 8), and pay for their after school activities etc.

But I don't want to spend my time selling raffle tickets, making fancy dress outfits, buying buns, toys and chocolates for school fair in return for kids having a non-uniform day etc etc. It's all a faff and and a hassle when I'm trying to juggle everything!

Would much rather give the school £30 or so at the beginning of the school year for the PTA to spend as they choose and be done with it!

Does anyone else feel like this?

And your sister's phone number is...?

JOANNAFIGHT- You can always tell the parents that dont work and have lots of time some of the outfits look they have been done by a top london designer! It makes me larf but at least I make the effort even if the results dont live up up to the idea! hee hee

hands off.

her my frog costume was the stuff of legends! Webbed toes, boggly eyes. The sheep one actually looked woolly and had a proper hood. The pirate one came with an actual wig sewn to a bandana.

My, Hecate, that's AMAZING! It must have taken ages!

Yes, it did take quite a while.

I have no shame.

hood = sheeps head with ears, I should say

Oh a thread I love!! - I get told off by my DS2 as I can't come to school for tuesday afternoon reading club.

Now that's the one that gets right up my nose, I work.

I can't make it, doesn't wash with a 4 year old when his friends mums turn up and read.. why oh why does it help any child to have parents come in and share books, for goodness sake I read every night to them, but I'm made to feel like a big poo for not coming in at 2.50 to read at school.

It just makes the working mums feel poo and the not working mums feel smug.

The cakes thing I don't bother, the fancy dress I buy on ebay and then donate to the school for the next year, the sponsorship I give more money for to make up for my lack of cake making and sewing ability!

I did do quite a good 'Piglet' outfit once (from Winnie the Pooh) Dd looked so cute.

I doubt she'd wear it now though.

Totally agree and bloody hate raffle tickets and sponsored bounces.

Always put a cap on the money per bounce as my little buggers bounced like tigger and cost me a fortune at 20p a bounce.

Hate cake sales,yeuk especially if made by the children, cue snot mixed with icing.

Just want to give school a cheque for £20 per year and then piss off.

the last outfit I attempted was supposed to be a bumble bee but I have to say that it didnt really look like one and luckily my childminder has a few dress outfits for the little ones and she helped me with the final outfit!

I hate it, I'm not interested in being part of the school community, nor are the majority of other parents (as the parent governors have just realised).

I want the school to educate my child, not dream up projects for me to do.

I volunteer (to teach a 'Sunday school' of sorts ironically) and would never impose of imposing on the parents do much, we put on plays but deliberately pick vague colour themes for costumes etc. and make masks and props with the kids so it doesn't take up hours of patents time.

Oh my goodness YANBU. Thank you for your post. My DC was told off by his Y6 teacher for not bringing baking to the annual school old people's coffee morning when I was in the thick of treatment for cancer!!!

IMO there are much better ways of supporting the school. Eg fostering a love of education for its own sake, backing the teachers, being punctual and well behaved in the classroom.
And there's no evidence that PTA involvement improves the childrens' education - which is why they go to school after all.

Littleducks-Im in the same gang as you on that one. Ive just been mailed a copy of the newsletter for the next month and yipeee there are some activities where they are asking for help from parents and donations ; 0 (

When you say startail that your PTA has never made a loss, ours would say the same. But I didn?t say they?d made a loss, I said if they were operating as a business they?d make a loss. I was working on:-

Time spent by volunteers if they were paid minimum wage at an hourly rate (T)
PLUS
Value of donations from parents and businesses (V)
SHOULD EQUAL APPROXIMATELY
Amount of money raised for the school (T+V)

... if you were running it as a business. But actually from our PTA accounts and my knowledge of how much time people have put in it looks more like T + V = (T+V) minus £2000 or so for each big event (my estimate but it?s not far off). Although the PTA accounts show a £500 profit ? but it?s not profit on what was donated, it?s just profit because everything was free/discounted, and it has all been sold below cost price. Clearly yours is better run though.

Anyway, if we?d all gone to work and earned the minimum wage and donated the same in hourly pay, and then asked the local businesses to sponsor a school trip directly, we could have helped a few hundred more children. And we wouldn?t have to suffer the horror of the actual events. This last is very Grinch-y of me ? I know that lots of people enjoy them. Or maybe they don?t and that?s why so many people are relieved to find this thread!

And don?t even get me started on fancy dress? For every kid having fun, there are always also ones in tears because their parents forgot or couldn?t afford to get them yet ANOTHER outfit. It?s hard enough for the kids at the school gates whose parents don?t bother with them ? I?m not talking about working parents now - the ones whose parents have just forgotten as a one-off will bounce back. I?m talking now about neglectful parents and troubled families - the ones who aren't looked after properly and then they?re the only one not dressed as a superhero in their class on superhero day as well - it's making it more obvious to their classmates that they are different. All children should be equal in a state school - the nature of the home/school partnership these days means they are anything but equal. I guess I notice this more because DS is at a state primary in central London where there is a huge gulf between haves and have nots...

And then also the best thing about school uniforms is that those kids who are poor don?t stick out so much but then kids have to wear non-uniform AND pay for it on certain days. And a lot of people who can?t afford it are too proud to say so.
Bah humbug

becstarsky your PTA doesn't sound very good! Ours has raised thousands of pounds! One target was 20K Discovery centre and dipping pond. We managed it easily from reserves and that year's fund raising!

We don't have enough volunteers on the committee as per the norm but our summer and xmas fairs raise a lot of money. We have the usual bounce for books and a sell out quiz night interspersed with the dressing up/down days. We also have a film night with a slice of pizza. a drink and some popcorn which is hugely popular.

The PTA get a meal out at local indian after the summer fair, if they are lucky and a leaving chair may well get a bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine but that is about it generally! We don't have much leftover food but if we do it generally is sold off to the helpers at a token price (fine by me) if not freezable.

The money we raise is much appreciated by the school and the children love being involved in these - the preparation as much as the events! My DC loved being in school out of normal hours and playing with their friends while the parents set up/decorated whatever.

Maybe your school PTA could do with looking at how other PTAs operate?!

See Pengy, that's kinda the point. Why should a school need a well-run PTA that raises thousands of pounds for the school. I pay taxes - thousands of pounds of them. I read and do homework, I go to parents' night, I send the gym kit on the right day. Why in the name of jeff, in a civilised country, should I need to donate cakes, debate summer fayres (oh how that 'y' makes me stabby) and pull together hasty dress up at midnight on the day before?

At least at our old school the fundraising was to cover the school trips (otherwise a lot of kids wouldn't have gone) - that had a clear and sensible point to it.

Our school needed cash for books, we offered to pay for whatever books our son's year needed but were turned down "because it might make other people feel bad if they couldn't afford to do the same".

Buying 35 books is still a darn sight cheaper than paying for even one term at private school. We have the means to do it, we have no problem with keeping it absolutely anonymous. The school can keep the books for future years etc. Everyone benefits by getting the books they need, and I don't need to waste time faffing around with baking or committee meetings etc.

The head did some crappy fundraising fair thing, I refused to have anything to do with it and just sent in rather a large cheque instead, a big chunk of which I'm sure went on admin costs for the stupid fair, rather than on the intended purpose of books... Bit of a shame really.

Oh, yes our PTA is rubbish. I can well believe that there are other better ones out there. I have backed away from them - I posted on MN about it at the time. The meetings made my teeth itch - lots of 'I'm not racist but...' stuff which drove me nuts, and the pestering is unbe-fecking-lievable. I work FT which they say 'must be lovely' like I'm doing it because I've got so much time on my hands...

I had e-mails from them recently saying 'I know you're busy becstarsky but could you possibly pick this up for us from x shop'. I replied 'No, sorry am working in Japan this week'. 'Oh, that's quite inconvenient. We're having difficulty getting volunteers. When will you be back?' (I haven't told them I'm back yet. Hope none of them recognise me on MN because as far as they're concerned I'm still in Tokyo )

Totally agree. My five year-old was in tears last night because neither my husband or I may be able to attend an afternoon session on MONDAY that we will be notified about TODAY. Because we will be at work. Naturally, my DD doesn't understand why I can't be at the school at the drop of a hat. Just 10 days notice would make all the difference!

No charity would make money if it paid wages to all it's volunteers!
And yes those of us who can afford it do donate food, paper, ink and face paints.

However, generally careful use of the cash and carry and various sources of cheap booze mean we raise money not loose it.

We are not a business and if schools were proper businesses we would not be necessary.

But schools are not businesses.

Despite having plenty of spare places we can't put on a mini bus to the nearest large town and collect their excess DCs. We can't use non approved suppliers or provide school dinners the DC want to eat.

I agree with the 'it should not be necessary' aspect. I think every child should have the same opportunities for a good education and it should be funded by the state. But as that is not the case, I am prepared to do what I can to ensure that my children do have a good education and fun childhood.

I have questioned the sale of cakes at less than it costs to produce them but the children do enjoy them. We have raised the price of cakes at our school to 25p per item with discretion as to whether or not to charge more for a particular masterpiece!

But I do it as it is fun for me. If it is not something you like to do or don't have time then don't. I do appreciate that everyone has other commitments and priorities and may not want or be able to.

It's alternative accountancy at work. Social accountancy.

Jam, Jerusalem and School Fetes

Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.
I've seen parental demand for involvement, and being treated like consumers or customers, rocket since I started teaching, and the schools have responded in kind.
The levels of fuss and flap and interaction border on insanity a lot of the time.
Perhaps the wheel will turn and we can withdraw from each others' territory and areas of expertise with good humour.

Just don't. The more you do, the more they will expect and ask for. Leave it to the PTA Nazi's anyway; they adore all that stuff.

I am a teacher on our PTA, I have been astounded by the selfless commitment that has been shown by the others.

We have a very efficient accounting mechanism firmly in place.

It is absolutely transparent, everyone can see where every penny has been spent. And it is only ever spent on stuff that will benefit all students at the school

Our PTA are unwritten heroes.

I am chairperson for our PTA and I do take on board what you all say..... However, last year our summer fair raised nearly ten thousand pounds with minimum costs. This was spent on amazing fun things for the school, every year group. I find it's all worth it but if you don't want to do it or be involved don't. :-)

Our PTA is amazing and very creative in ways of raising money, the children enjoy it too. There are those who don't want to be bothered and the PTA don't bother them.