Playgroup committees: are they always a nightmare or is it just us?

[ponygirl]

Don't know where to start really, and it's not really the specifics of our latest problems, it's the fact that there's always a problem, always a crisis, always a clash of personalities. Is it the nature of playgroup committees or does my village just attract psychotics?!

It seems to be a small groups 'thing'!

Aha! very interesting. I think you must be on my pre-school committee, Badger!

Oh wow, I haven't yet had the (erm ) 'pleasure' of being on a pre-school committee!

Don't do it!

I just stepped down from our preschool committee for nightmare reasons!!

Sorry, I wish I could be more positive.
A friend warned me when I started (she had been on a committee years before, at another playgroup) "the people who run the playgroup" (meaning the staff) "always get upset if you don't want to do what they want to do"
Which is precisely what i found.
The other moms on the committee are all right (IME).
I think I have known people who were happy on their committees, though.
The head of our school actually called it a "ludicrous situation", agreeing with me that it was absurd that unpaid, inexperienced, untrained & unqualified volunteers should be expected to run a playgroup profressionally (Ofsted inspections, "Policy and Procedures", "Health and Safety", staff relations, and all that).
If you want to have a whinge, feel free to elaborate. I'll commiserate.

Weeelll, zebra. You're absolutely right about the staff getting hacked off if you don't do what they want, and about the way playgroups are run. As you say, we're essentially a bunch of amateurs running a professional business. And the stupidity of it is, that it is impossible to make things better for the longer term, because the nature of the constant change of the committee means that improvements aren't retained. For instance, I was treasurer for 3 years. The accounts were in real mess when I took it over but I sorted it all out, set up systems, provided regular budgets/forecasts etc etc. After 3 years I'd had enough and we got a couple to take it on as joint treasurers. He was an IT whizz and had software that he wanted to use and he was sooo patronising. It was real "I'm a man and I'm going to sort out your girly paperwork" and he was crap! We never had a budget in a whole year, they didn't have a clue what they were doing, loads of the bills were wrong and nobody could understand the complicated invoices anyway. Result, they have now handed over but it's a complete pig's ear. It feels like all my organisation was wasted (I know it wasn't really but it soooo galls!) Now we have a new committee, lots of really good people but the chair is demented. She's someone I do like as person, but she's gone mad since taking over playgroup. I know there's a lot to do, but she's turned into a control freak. We had a parents evening last night and I lost it and shouted at our chair and she walked out in tears. Obviously, I behaved bad (and apologised loads) but I just said some of the stuff that everyone else was thinking!

God, I know I should resign, but I've been on the committee for my first two children and feel I should see it through for my last (he's just started - only 20 months to go!)

Thanks for that. I feel a bit better now.

Oh heavens... remember your Chairperson is just another volunteer stumbling around trying to find her way.

It's a complete nonsense as a business model, though, isn't it? It really gave me an insight into the "voluntary sector". When I hear government or political parties saying things like "well, our ideas for education are great because bad schools will close down and then parents and volunteers will have the chance to open up new better schools" -- I want to scream. Parents & volunteers don't have the ability or time to start up new schools, or run them properly....

I am actually thinking to send my youngest to a private nursery now for his LEA-funded sessions (when he's old enough) precisely because it will mean that someone is PAID & TRAINED to run it consistently; I don't like the idea of having to rely on volunteers.

Our playgroup is exactly the same. Nightmare committee full of characters straight form vicar of Dibley (only all female!)
We have the "only for my cv" type chair who does b@%%er all, then acts in a hurry and mucks everything up without consulting anyone. We have the overbearing do-it-all stuffy secretary that puts other mums off from getting involved and is totally obsessive about paperwork, policies etc and a treasurer who does the absolute minimum and avoids any contact with the rest other than to give the account balances at each meeting. Our staff is a disaster zone, always looking for fulltime, qualified staff as they either leave in desparation at dreadful committee or better jobs offers. The staff we have is either underqualified (forwever "working towards..") or are temporary fill ins who do it as a favour for a few months while the committee bodge up any chance of advertising properly. I totally and utterly dispair of it all. I have tried to be involved and have done more than my fair share of involvement over the years but got sick of "fighting" the system and acting as a go between trying to solve infights and disagreements. AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH.
My advice - avoid all voluntary committees, get involved by agreeing help out at the fete or by baking the odd cake but STAY AWAY from the meetings unless you are wiling to risk falling out with your neighbours over petty issues and get dragged into time wasting nonsensical discussions about price of loo roll and the disadvantages of own brand disinfectant over the leading competitor!!

just to put another view point - I am secretary at ours - and so far have had no real problems or personality clashes (certainly nothing on the scale zebra has had to cope with).

Having said that - I would be very reluctant to be the chair - way to big a job and too important to get wrong.

I'm heavily involved in a parent-run nursery, where parents do shifts.

I don't know why, but in my tenure, we've never had real power struggles on the committee. Yes, it's hard work. We've recently moved to having a nursery manager, who knows about Ofsted and so on, which hopefully will ease things a bit.

I'm not sure if I'm objective, but our problem is that the staff have very high standards (fine) but we the committee have no training to help us support them in that, or in doing any of the work. The staff get very annoyed that the staff (many of whom are ex-committee members, incidentally) end up doing things that should the committee jobs... but the committee doesn't know that we need to be doing those things.

The pre-school committee really needs a written manual on how to run it, with sections and tips for each of the officers. Originally I wasn't given a scrap of paper on "how" to be chairperson when I joined. When the new chair took over from me I tried to give her loads of paper & computer files on things I had figured out, spreadsheets for the staff contracts, how to do certain jobs, things to know, etc., but she wasn't interested; she just wants to do things her own way.

Cue me shrugging shoulders & being grateful that I could just walk away relatively painlessly....

The playgroup where I am on the committee is great. My ds is in year 1 at school now but I am still on the committee cos the staff really appreciate what we do and we discuss every idea whoever puts it forward. The staff and other committee members are all really friendly and we have a great time at our meetings where anyone is free to speak as they are very informal.