AIBU to think parent groups should be representative of schools ethnicity

[sportsshop2]

DSs primary school is quite diverse - over 50% but in an area that was very white until recently. 20 parents in year group of 60 have been organizing prom etc and have asked for help but then ignored all offers from anyone not white or possibly even European. As they are on a private facebook group it is not obvious to those individuals who has been included.

The school itself is integrated, kids mixed and staff are great. I would like to raise this to try to improve things for future years. Would HT think it is outside their remit? Would governors help or as it is all volunteers is racism impossible to prevent?

Wow, that’s depressing. I don’t know how you could police it but if a small group of parents are not letting non-White parents get involved then that needs rissing with the school.

Definitely worth mentioning to HT?

Have they actually ignored offers of help? If so that's not great at all.

I find in the school I work in that often parents of minority groups don't offer as much and it can be hard to help them to feel included. Equally you cannot make people volunteer for stuff!

I think it is a good idea to highlight the lack of diversity on any such committees. But unless you are very sure of facts I wouldn’t be making accusations, I say this as I find it odd to the point of unlikely that all offers of help from anyone non white were ignored.

How do you know they’re refusing offers of help from some groups?

Well they've shot themselves in the foot haven't they. Let them crack on would be my view , they can do all the work themselves, they'd just better not moan about it.

and have asked for help but then ignored all offers from anyone not white or possibly even European do you know this for sure? If so I would mention to the head teacher. It's not acceptable.

I dont know for 100% sure that there is no one on the group (as it is a private facebook group) but we cant think of anyone included who can be seen helping. There are a number of European and non white parents who claim they offered to help on tick box and then were never contacted. However I do agree that less minority groups offer to help but think that is because they are not welcomed and there is no integration not that they are less helpful!

There are a number of European and non white parents who claim they offered to help on tick box and then were never contacted. mention it to the head.

As a parent who is actively involved in leading school stuff, I find this very surprising. We are always crying out for help and will happily welcome all comers.

In reality very few people actually volunteer unless you know them and can put a bit of friendly pressure on. Some people who do initially volunteer then put boundaries on it (not on Wednesdays as I have yoga I can only do during school hours, I can only do outside of school hours, etc) so whoever is leading stuff often choices the times and routes that suit themselves and this often works for their standard cohort too.

This all undoubtedly breeds a lack of diversity but when people are volunteering their time, expecting them to actively promote diversity as well as achieve whatever the basic aim of the task is would just demotivate me from even doing the basics. The school will support an inclusive approach but don't have resources to get involved generally.

I wonder if what has happened is actually that the core group organising the event have asked for offers of help but first contacted people they know already. The outcome may well be the same if the core organisers are all white and so are their friends, but I would hope that this is accidental and not a deliberate attempt not to invite certain ethnic groups.

I'd still raise the issue with the Head though. At my DC primary school the PTA committee were all white middle class stay at home mum's so everything they organised seemed to assume that everyone else was in the same position as them (meetings/events in the middle of the day which excluded most working parents, expensive fundraising ideas which must have excluded less well off families etc etc).

The OP and the responses are slightly ambiguous.

OP, are you concerned about the fact that the proportions are off in relation to that specific school or that the group should be per se more diverse (in which case I see where Blankiefan is coming from)

Hmm not sure. I have ticked the box every school years and have never been asked.
I am white, my DC school is very diverse the committee is mostly white though DM's from different cultures help with the bake sale and different events.
I'd speak to the FB administrator for details first.

If all the people you are worried about have done is tick a box, they aren’t really going out of their way to give offers of help that have been turned down like you made it sound in your OP.

There haven’t been many events that parent helpers could get involved with helping at with covid restrictions for the last year, and ime, thats the sort of thing that the box tick on the form is for. People who want to get properly involved in organising events etc need to actively offer help, not just wait to be contacted.

People who want to get properly involved in organising events etc need to actively offer help, not just wait to be contacted.
100%.

I wonder if this is about perceptions. If some parents think that they will be asked to help if they have indicated that they would. Whereas at pretty much all pta things the expectation is that people will actively put themselves forward to help if they want to do so.

I wouldn't assume this is deliberate exclusion, it could be more about how people offer their help. But also what's to stop non white parents organising something? Rather than waiting to be asked? My experience of schools (as a parent and member of staff) is that its always the same parents who have to organise everything - and other parents are happy to let them.

have been organizing prom

Also, could you clarify whether this could be a long-standing ad hoc 'unofficial' group that could have been formed to organise events for that particular year (which may perhaps be in line with the proportions which could be different for that year - as you say that the school changed recently) or is it the aim to cover the whole school?

If they were ignoring offers of help then that’s completely wrong BUT in a lot of cases you just need to take whatever volunteers you can get.
I used to be involved with The PTA at the DCs Primary school and we were always short of volunteers anyone and everybody was more than welcome.
Despite the school being mixed it was usually white women who were helping. There was an Indian lady who came once but was never seen again and another lady who I think was of Pakistani origin who used to bake for events.
When I resigned as Chair though a Romanian man took over though

This is a facebook group specifically to organize events for year 6 leavers it is nothing to do with school fund raising hence nearly all the parents wanting to be involved to cheer up the kids after the last 18 months. I agree with PTA fund raising there is always the opportunity to do another event but this all needs to be coordinated and is for whole year group.

I think unless you know that they are actually excluding non-white parents I would not make any accusations. Most likely explanation is that there are a few type-A parents pushing the whole thing and they include other parents they know from their circle, and people's circles often happen to be largely their own race.

There’s an interesting podcast called Nice White Parents which discusses some of the issues raised when white parents take over the PTA and exert their influence on multi ethnic schools. It’s American but very thought provoking.

It’s American

Then not relevant to the UK and it's apparent the OP is talking about a school in the UK.

white parents take over the PTA and exert their influence on multi ethnic schools

The proportion of different ethnicities can differ by area, by school and by year. So it's inappropriate to say that anyone is 'taking over' without understanding the details in each specific situation, and also unhelpful to make accusations without taking all of this into account and understand how make ups of these groups may have evolved over the years also

mustlove - sounds very relevant. It is a newly formed group to arrange leavers events and year group has over 50% non white British in our specific situation which is what i was discussing.

Ignoring offers of help sounds bad.

But it can be really hard increasing diversity on voluntary committees etc. We want to increase diversity on our pta committees but it's hard enough get any volunteers at and harder still be be choosy about their ethnicity

Was the school organizing the prom (which I still find weird for Y6) and these parents were part of that or was it something they were organizing separately without the school's involvement?

In both cases, letting the headteacher know might be worthwhile, but in the latter, then the school may take a hands' off policy for things that they're not actively involved in. I know at my DDs' school, the school does not get involved in parents facebook or other groups other than their general policy about what can be posted about the school / pupils / staff online that the admins adhere to to prevent some of the chaotic hell last year where some were gunning for everyone.

I agree with others that to volunteer, parents need to do more proactive than tick a box, and many activities this last year haven't been the sort that type of volunteering would involve. I also agree with Blankiefan that it's so hard to get consistent volunteers and those who do may go to those they know because it's pretty common for people to volunteer for the fun party making, but not really stick around when there is a lot more to it that though.

I am a bit surprised by the composition, though that's because at my DD's school, when there was a request for volunteers, every single parent who put their name forward was an immigrant. It still had the same issues Blankie talked about of quick drop off and people being a bit narrow about what they're willing to help with, but - maybe because of the chaos we had last year was well known locally which I think definitely killed some's desire to step forward - it's been even harder to get in British-born parents of any ethnicity at her school. We're hoping the new influx in September might have a few more.