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Original poster

NCT classes - mix up with dates.

31 replies

kekouan · 07/09/2007 09:50

My local NCT group have sent me details of the classes for October (I'm due in November) and they had got one of the dates wrong. When I called up to enquire about it I basically got fobbed off, with them asking me to ring back next week because they were too busy to deal with my query at the moment. I only wanted to check a date... if they were so busy, why did they even pick up the phone.

Have decided that if my local NCT can't get get their dates right, and can't be bothered to answer a simple request, then they can't be worth the £159 that they are charging for the course (OK, that includes the membership, but what exactly does that get you). Think I will go for the NHS classes. They're closer to my house anyway..

Possibly being hormonal and ranting more than usual about something that's not really that important.. am I being over the top about this?

argh.

OP posts:
pyjamaqueen · 07/09/2007 09:53

Yes you are being over the top. The person you called about dates is an unpaid volunteer. The money you pay goes mainly to the teacher who isn't involved in the admin. The best reason for doing NCT classes is the people you will meet, so don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

SueW · 07/09/2007 09:54

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at OP's request.

Original poster
kekouan · 07/09/2007 10:01

I didn't actually realise that the person was most likely a volunteer....

Hmm...

OP posts:
Original poster
kekouan · 07/09/2007 10:04

pyjama queen - thanks for the honest response..

I didn't realise that the person was an unpaid volunteer, it's a lot of money and just didn't know that. I guess that if I'm paying money for something, I expect a degree of professionalism.

They were actually pretty rude to me on the phone, hence my rantiness. Sorry if I came across as rude!! Wasn't the intention.

OP posts:
Original poster
kekouan · 07/09/2007 10:17

Lovely NCT person just called me back - turns out it was her partner who answered the phone and he was in 'meltdown' because they're getting married tomorrow.

heh.. I guess we're all allowed our off moments.

OP posts:
potoroo · 07/09/2007 10:21

I also found that the NCT classes were much better than the NHS ones. They provided a lot more information about labour and birth and about c-sections that was not covered in the NHS classes.

The NHS classes were very big whereas the NCT classes were much smaller so there was more opportunity to ask questions and get to know people.

Original poster
kekouan · 07/09/2007 10:24

thanks - was just looking for other NCT threads to try and find a bit more about them...

OP posts:
ladymuck · 07/09/2007 10:34

Just to reassure you - the NCT antenatal teachers are trained and are professional (ours was a midwife), but the people taking bookings will be volunteers. Even if it is an 0845 number or whatever it will just be going through to their home phone.

I would also warn you that sometimes NCT classes do have to change their dates, sometimes to fit around the teacher's other commitments, sometimes due to the venue. So it isn't like the NHS which runs fixed parentcraft classes and would have a number of staff to fill in if necessary.

In terms of value for money - it was certainly very useful to have the classes and also have the support of the teacher and breastfeeding counsellor who were both available by phone to answer any questions during late pg. But if you have a good NHS service locally this might not be that valuable to you. 7 years on I still see my NCT friends friends regularly and they were a huge part of my life in the first few years with a baby. There are of course plenty of other ways of building such friendships, but NCT classess do seem to be quite good in builidng friendships over a period.

WinkyWinkola · 07/09/2007 10:42

Also, NCT classes are a great albeit expensive way of making friends. It'll be great for you to have new friends who have babies the same age as you.

Plus the NCT are committed to giving impartial information and as much support as possible to new mums despite their reputation for goaty armpits and breastfeeding their kids until 11!

You might not get the same information from NHS classes. Some hospitals/consultants are unnecessarily fond of inductions, epidurals and c-sections. Some mums are too but it's very important to get all the information available on all of these.

Pollyanna · 07/09/2007 10:48

i am an nct volunteer and arrange the bookings. i fit this in around looking after my 4 children and working part time. I get so many irate demands from people like you when I am booking the course it really annoys me. (I also get alot of very excited, happy people phoning me which makes it more worthwhile).

It is alot of work, I am unpaid. as far as I know the teachers don't get paid an awful lot and the nct is a charity so no one makes money out of that.

there rant over. it is no skin off my nose which course you do, but please let the overworked, stressed volunteer know as quickly as possible so that she can offer the place to someone else on the (very long) waiting list.

dramaqueen · 07/09/2007 11:08

I can see kekouan's point, though. £159 is alot of money to spend on something, and if you are paying that much you expect professionalism when making an enquiry about it. OK they are volunteers, but if those volunteers take it on surely they accept that they are the "face" of the NCT to anyone who phones, and are portraying this organisation to those they speak to.

Why couldn't the volunteer's husband say sorry I can't help but I will get someone to call you back? That's not too much to ask in any situation.

Original poster
kekouan · 07/09/2007 11:14

Pollyanna - comments like 'people like you' aren't helpful.

I didn't make an 'irate demand' I just (politely) requested a date.

I wasn't rude to the person on the phone, they were rude to me.

I have said that I didn't realise that they were most likely a paid voluteer. Not that that really makes much difference I suppose, but I honestly didn't know that the person would be organising classes from their house - I thought it would be a central office or something, and to be fobbed off was just a bit disheartening. As I was paying money for something, and then got told "Oh we're too busy now, call back next week" I was understandably a little PO'd!

Anyway.

calms down

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 07/09/2007 11:18

I didn't realise the people I spoke to about my NCT classes were unpaid volunteers and mothers of small children until I became one of those unpaid volunteers with small children myself!

Original poster
kekouan · 07/09/2007 11:18

dramaqueen - thank you, glad you can see my point of view....

He could have been a little less rude, but his partner did call me back (the woman who is actually organising everything) and was really lovely and just said her partner was a little bit stressed.

I just didn't expect a mouthful when I rang up about classes... not too much to ask is it?

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 07/09/2007 11:19

IIRC, the NCT branch doesn't make much of a profit (if any at all) on the antenatal classes.

lemonaid · 07/09/2007 11:30

Mind you, a friend of mine recently decided to skip the NCT classes and go for the NHS ones. She and her DP turned up (along with a large group of others) to find the NHS class had been cancelled. And at 35 weeks she doesn't have much chance of getting in anywhere else...

Genidef · 07/09/2007 12:13

Agree with Dramaqueen. Volunteers are the 'face' of the NCT, and the activities they manage are some of the main ways the charity supports itself. If they put people off, they will just go to a free NHS class. It's just part of hte job to be pleasant (or ensure that anyone who answers their phones is) when callers ring. By the way, i'm a volunteer too (not at NCT but a similar sort of organisation).

SoupDragon · 07/09/2007 13:05

The thing is, if people assume that the person is a paid employee, they behave very differently towards them than when they know they are a harrassed mother being an unpaid volunteer.

I bet the OP was less "friendly" in her call, assuming she was speaking to a member of staff than she would have been knowing it was a volunteer. I'm not saying she was rude but I find I speak very differently to someone doing a paid job than I do to someone who's doing voluntary work.

Original poster
kekouan · 07/09/2007 13:19

SoupDragon - yeah, you've got a point. Thing is, I was at work at well, had I called from home I might have been more forgiving..

Oh, who knows... It's all sorted out now and I've decided to go for the NCT classes after all, and probably the NHS ones too (as I'll be on Mat Leave and they're right near my house :D)

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 07/09/2007 13:49

I remember being scared to phone up the antenatal bookings clerk to confess I'd lost the letter with all the class dates on as I thought she was a Highly Professional Employee I got to know her later when I was a volunteer and discovered the truth.

I found the NCT classes worthwhile, not least because I have 4 good friends from them 8 years later.

mummydoit · 07/09/2007 14:30

Kekouan, you asked what membership of the NCT gets you. A lot of that depends on your branch. You'll get a newsletter, usually quarterly which can vary from an A4 information sheet to a 90 page magazine packed full of features, articles and information, depending on the skill and enthusiasm of your branch's newsletter volunteers. The newsletters are funded by advertising so there are always lots of adverts that you'll find very useful for baby equipment, services, activities, etc. Your branch will probably run social events and fundraisers such as Nearly New Sales. Whilst all of these are open to non-members, members do get in early at the Sales and can snap up the best bargains. You also get a national magazine and a catalogue. Then there are breastfeeding counsellors, bra-fitters, Valley cushion hire, postnatal courses, experiences register (can put you in touch with people going through similar experiences to you), house-swap register (free holidays!). Some branches have libraries of books you can borrow and baby-sitting circles you can join. There are mum & baby coffee groups, toddler groups, family events such as NCTea parties. Our branch runs a Ladies' Night of Indulgence and an Annual Ball. Loads going on! Of course, everything is available to non-members too but it's harder for them to find out about it.

My local NCT let me down very badly over antenatal classes. I registered early but they somehow skipped over my name when calling to book the classes and, by the time I got worried and chased them up, all the places had been allocated to people who'd registered later than I had. You'd think this would have put me off the NCT but a lovely Postnatal coordinator called me after the birth for a chat and to invite me to coffee groups. I gave them a second chance and have got an awful lot out of my four years as a member. It really is a shame when people get a poor first impression as the NCT does have a lot to offer new parents.

Original poster
kekouan · 07/09/2007 14:51

Mummydoit - thanks very much for the long reply - It definitely seems worthwhile being a member, and TBH - if I'm paying £120, then I might as well fork out the extra £39 for the membership as well. If it's not for me then I don't have to renew after the first year, but I have just moved to a new area where I don't know a soul and I think this will be the best way for me to get to know people.

(better that my nightmare scenario of being at home on my own with a young baby, and not having anybody to talk to other than DP...heh)

Thanks again :-D

OP posts:
mummydoit · 07/09/2007 17:22

Kekouan, you're welcome . I was in the same situation when I had DS1. Moved to a new area, gave up work and had sleepless nights about being stuck in the house with a baby, not knowing a soul. Even if you don't hit it off with the others in the coffee groups, you tend to find out about other baby groups and activities so you can try out a few till you find some you like.

A lot does depend on the individual branch, though. Some are very small with few members and hardly any volunteers and they wouldn't offer all the things I've mentioned. Ask your branch if it has a branch leaflet and ask for a copy of its newsletter (you'd probably be given these at the antenatal classes anyway). That will give you an idea of how much it offers. Good luck!

natmatt · 07/09/2007 17:26

hiya,
kekouan can i be nosey and ask where abouts you live?

natmatt

SueW · 07/09/2007 23:04

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at OP's request.