To wonder why Nct membership is expensive?

[Lettherebelight]

I joined up when I signed up for an antenatal course (which was OK but our group didn't keep in touch). Now I was invited to renew but as far as I can tell all I'd get for £50 is priority entrance to the jumble sale and an email. I'm not going to renew but could anyone in the know explain why it's so much ? (I would ask directly but I think it will sound like a complaint and it's not, I'm just curious).

Nct?

I agree. It makes it very exclusive and also the not teachers get in the region of £50 per session on the antenatal course. My friend also did the sessions from home and didn’t get extra for that.

We ended up buying the membership but haven’t used it at all so far. The discounts on there aren’t generally any better than if you just google voucher codes.

Never been to the jumble sales though which i’d like go check out at some point!

Not sure. I use their various courses and find things to do on their website and happy to pay, but I havent signed up for membership.

I found the sale great when I was buying newborn stuff - lots of it had obviously hardly been used. Then when DD was born weighing 9,5 I understood why!

Nct= national childcare trust

Yep I wish I’d bought more second hand, we bought so much silly stuff that hasn’t been used. Why did I think it was a good idea to buy three £17 newborn JoJo Maman baby babygrows?! DD is 4 months now and I’m still too sentimental to get rid of any of it though...

I presume you join to support the national childbirth trust in its work in general. I havent looked at it for ages as my DC are grown up now but they provide a lot of information and support. If the post natal group you are in doesnt gel you can see if there are others you can infiltrate as it is a matter of luck who is in your group. I moved out of london when DC were 2 and 4 and joined a local group which helped me find my feet locally.

I can’t speak about the general membership, but my impression was that the courses are priced the way they are because meeting “like-minded” (middle class) parents is their only real USP.

Possibly the same applies to membership?

I think they are complete rip off merchants. I paid for the course, only went to the hour long meet and greet. My twins arrived early and I was in hospital and missed them all. I was told they do not give refunds because they are a charity, and when I asked if I could go to a few of the single evening post birth courses the woman running - she said 'no but I will send you the notes'. She sent badly typed notes via email attachment. She couldn't even be bothered to print them out.

I met another young mum - her baby also arrived early and she lost all the money too.

On their website they publish their annual reports which include income and expenditure so you can see where the money goes. Here is last year's.

www.nct.org.uk/sites/default/files/related_documents/NCT%20Annual%20Report%20and%20Accounts%202017-18.pdf

I think they can charge fairly high prices because they know their target market extremely well.

NCT is a charity, not a club. Your membership of NCT is to support the work they do, same as if you have money to the RNLI or Oxfam etc. Their work is far more wide reaching than antenatal classes and coffee mornings. Have a look at their website to see how they have influenced legislation around maternity leave, maternal and paternal rights; research into pregnancy and birth, premature births and care; provide support lines for new mothers/parents (PND, breast feeding, emotional and practical support).

The magazine and priority entrance to the NNS (very definitely not a jumble sale!) is a sweetener, but if you do not need the support of their charity work it’s all they have to offer. You don’t have to support them, like you don’t have to support any other charity, but new parents would like to. Like how people who live by the coast can see the benefit of a lifeboat.

Summary of NCT research

Backdoor selection.

Gotta keep the chavs out!

The unemployed can join for about a fiver from memory! So they are trying to expand their appeal.

Thanks pink, that should answer my question.
Not sure why you are so upset by the question ski, I've been to the sales and liked them and would call them a jumble sale. I said in the OP I wasn't going to pay to renew so I'm well aware I don't have to support them, I was just curious as to why it's so much.
I reckon lots more people would join if it was £15 not £50 so not sure they would lose money.

I hadnt considered it as a gate-keeping thing but even that doesn't explain it as the membership doesn't get you 'in' to anything.

Keeps out the riff raff