No pta and no parents communication group

[Slytherinforme]

My son has just started a new primary school. I have found out there is no pta and it was disbanded when the current principal came into her role. There are no class reps and no encouragement of what's app groups for parents.i have asked about formation of pta but I know I will be told no as many others have been in the past. I asked would the school send out a link to a what's app group to allow parents to communicate and this was a no as well. It really feels like the principal is actively discouraging communication between the parents and the school and the parents and each other.

I see this as major red flags and am considering a school change for my son. AIBU?

I know schools in deprived areas raising this kind of money. It doesn’t all have to come from the school community itself.

Thank you. This is exactly what I'm saying and this validation was all I needed. It's a gut feeling and I appreciate the way you articulated it.

I’d see both these things as positives!

Thank you for this. Very frustrating that this seems to be the practice with most institutions, not just schools. Sorry you had this experience too. Hope you had some resolution.

i agree with you. A PTA is essential for fundraising and a link between the parents and the school. It’s a bad sign that this is not encouraged. Now you have no joint forum to complain against the lack of Halloween.

It’s also a very bad sign that the teacher was negative about school management to you.

Our school what’s app groups are parent led and do not involve the school.

I would say Northern Ireland as schooling here is segregated along sectarian lines and integrated schools take a mixture of Protestant and Catholic children and are supposed to respect both traditions.

See https://nicie.org/what-is-integrated-education/

I couldn't get worked up about only one "side" visiting but if the other "side" is being ignored that's against the ethos of integrated education.

Re: PTA they are sometimes a nightmare for teachers to police due to crazy parents. It may be that they had one in the past and disbanded it as it was too much hassle. My daughter's school has a Parents Association instead where the teachers are a bit more hands off in terms of organising events etc. The head approves the events and the teachers volunteer but the majority of the leg work is done by the PA team.

WhatsApp groups are always self organised in my experience but surely if you've set one up you can bring out a page with the details and give them to the teacher to distribute to parents.

My DS has been to three primary schools and my DD one (the one DS started at).
DS second primary school had a WhatsApp group that was used to bully parents (me) by exclusion and egging parents on to report him to the school. He was 7. Schools are very wise not to get involved.
The first one had none of these and no PTA. The lack of PTA means all events are run by teaching staff - and it's a huge workload for them. We had issues with the HT over DS (tangentially related to the reason he moved, but also relating to revealing confidential information about another pupil, to us).
DD was happy so we didn't move her when DS moved. But we weren't the only parents who saw what HT was like. The WhatsApp issue is a non issue. But a lack of PTA and unwillingness to even consider one is a red flag. Don't necessarily move straight away but it's a red flag (and if it's B school in the NW of England PM me...)

If celebrating Halloween would be against a significant amount of pupils religion, they can't rely celebrate it. Especially as it isn't part of anyones religion to celebrate it, its just a fun thing. Many schools don't celebrate it. If its important, organise a party off school premises i a village hall etc.

They did always celebrate it until this year. And all the surrounding schools so too. I think it could have been managed to meet everyone's needs. And I would 100 percent have been happy with a disco after school hours or off the school property etc but with no parents forum to discuss these matters it makes it very difficult. And it's not a religious holiday but as an integrated school there should be a celebration of all cultures. I'm sure there are various celebrations that don't align with all religions/cultures but it's about allowing the exploration of these in the most respectful way possible. Not just putting an outright ban on it.

I completely agree. It’s about finding a way in which everyone can be involved.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m Irish that it is colouring my thoughts on this as it’s a key date in the calendar.

my children go to a multi denominational school and Halloween is celebrated along with multiple other celebrations that are meaningful to the multicultural student body.

Just set up your own group. I’ve had a school get involved in setting up any sort of group chat. Someone just does it and everyone adds people they know.

If she doesn’t want a PTA, well, okay. 🤷🏻‍♀️ All ours does is fundraise for the school. They are a lot of drama, but if she doesn’t want extra money, then I couldn’t get worked up about it.

Ours is on messenger via facebook. There may well already be one.

Thanks for input everyone. But I think what I'm getting at is the refusal to even contemplate a pta despite several parents asking for one strikes me as indicative of a controlling personality who doesn't welcome parental input and that worries me.

The what's app group doesn't worry me as much but I do feel she tries to limit any kind of group discussion. And any communication forms sent to teachers go through her first. So it just seems very controlling and not in keeping with the ethos of an integrated education system.

Thanks again.

That's great to hear 😊 Glad they are celebrating cultural diversity. It's so important x