Parent participation/consultation in school running

[PotPourri]

Have just taken on a role in the PTA. One of the big things I want to achieve is better communication and participation of the parents in school lifr (running and social). Currently to the outside (including me until yesterday when I went to the AGM),the PTA is a bit cliquey and seems 'secretive'

Has anyone managed to do this successfully? How? Or any good ideas?

Note, the computer literacy it would appear is rock bottom - the room was reeling when I suggested email as a means of submitting feedback, rather than post or phoning/dropping in to see the head teacher. And suggestion of a page on facebook - !! I'd still however like to use these methods as part of the approach...

PotPourri,
I think that you need to be clear what you are trying to achieve and what the right of doing it is.
The PTA have absolutely nothing to do with running the school. Their sole purpose is to raise funds and then decide how they should be spent. Obviously in a good school there is interaction but the PTA do not have any formal say in what happens in the school.
The head is responsible for the day to day running of the school and they report to the governing body. So if you really want to influence the running of the school, you need either to be the head or a member of the governing body.

Also, Facebook isn't appropriate for a primary school and would contravene their internet safety policy, I'm afraid. Why not stand as a parent governor, as the previous poster suggests?

Thanks both. Good point about facebook

Its not so much computer literacy but whether people have convenient access.

It would be worth finding out if email is commonly used by parents.

Start of by asking around in the playground, then start collecting addresses for an email list.