Why don't most parents get involved in their children's schools?

[zebraX]

Recent travel survey for my son's school -- 30% reply rate by parents.

"Help us identify your child's talents?" survey at same school, 25% response rate (so far).

Latest preschool committee meeting -- 4 commmittee members, plus committee officers turned up (80 children attend the preschool). Which is pretty good compared to

8 people at Friends of the School meeting last night (~300 children at the school), planning FunFair events. They have at least 20 events on, all of them designed to require low staffing levels, due to lack of parental support.

WHY DON'T MORE PARENTS GET INVOLVED, at least reply to surveys designed to help their school and their child's education, help out with fund-raising events???? I just don't understand. I know some people have legit excuses, but do 75-99% of the parents have good reasons for not helping out???

Clary, it sounds as though your PTA do some worthwhile work.
So how much money does everyone's PTAs actually raise?

Ours (from memory):
School size - c.500 children
PTA raise c.£5,000 (which I think is not a lot)

Ks you are making me laugh today
Thank you!

I am expecting a thread, now:
Freelance PTA activities Anyone? I am looking for work I can do while my children are at school, and wondered if any Mums out there would pay others to do things like jam-mincing, meeting attendance, tombola turning?

ks - you could run a huge nationwide agency - f/t from home, of course.

Of course you are.

Sorry.

Roisin, ours raises about ?£3-4,000 a year, maybe a bitmore, for a school of 200 pupils so that?s not bad i think.
ks you are so funny, thanks for lightening this up

I am new to the school I have 3 sons and a business running from home - I offer to help at school because I am nosey and because I thought it would help to meet a few people

• it is proving very hard as it is cliqey and it seems the older your children are the harder it is to make friends easily ?? - but I will keep going. I agree the government should be doing it - but they don't and the PTA fundraising efforts make such a huge difference to the school

certain people volunteer for things, lots don't, thats life.

Our school has about 350 kids and raises about £8,000 per year (think it may be more than that?). Unfortunately, I feel that if we didn't raise that it would be the kids who suffered - I don't think the slack would be picked up be any government We are lucky in that we are fairly well supported, and hopefully the PTA isn't too cliquey, but we still have the same people organising stalls every year etc so it may appear that way to anyone new (if you've done it before you know what to do). Many of the mums (including myself) work either ft or pt, and these are often the ones doing the most work. Not many of the 'yummy mummies' join in - but they do cough up the cash

Didnt read this whole thread zebra but call me cynical, when my son goes to school, i am worried that all i will be allowed to do, or useful for is fundraising and PTA type stuff.

Dont know about other parents, and why they dont get involved, but parents are pretty well kept on the periphery arent they? I am seriously considering homeschool so i can control what my child learns.

ROFL @ KS!

I get a bit cheesed off at the constant drip, drip out of my purse for this, that and the next thing at School but at the moment we go to everything we possibly can and contribute (often through gritted teeth), DS1's School is having a Promise Auction so both DH and I have offered our services. I am not involved in the 'friends' of the School association, not even sure how I would go about being involved (although I am quite happy not being involved to that extent) so that may be something to think about, do parents know how to get themselves involved? I always fill in questionaires and am quite shocked that parents aren't filling those in at ZebraX's children's School.

Issy, yep, but they wouldnt feel like they "contributed" something. Its all a crock!.

Issymum- if you want to raise money with a cake stall make small cakes, preferably chocolate - esp the rice krispie type - sell after school to a seething mass of children at 20p per cake.

minimal effort and cost, maximum profit and a wider audience.

the big cakes always get left or bought by whoever donated them

Ks, pmsl at "Blu we have a computer etc at home (you may have worked that out already)"
Issymum, you're right about the economics, absolutely and that's part of my point: it's all money from home, why not save myself the bother and just GIVE the school £100 a year? I'd be much happier with that tbh. Damn cake sales, I helped at one once and the sight of 100 children running towards the table for the last of the cakes just as they were coming up on all that sugar was one I'll never forget!
Just to be clear, I would fill in a survey, of course I would.

we tried asking parents for Giftaid - very poor take-up

blimey ks - we're only a common or garden state school, but ALL our cakes are home-made

ks - is that code for botox evenings?

Blimey, I'd just be happy if parents would get their kids to do their homework and if they would come to the parents evening it would help a bit too! Baking cakes????

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