Just taken over as Chair of PTA, how to encourage parents?

[bumbums]

Hi I have in the past month taken over as chair of the pta at my DSs primary school. It is a tiny school with only 3 classes and around 40 families sending their 80 children to the school.

My DS is in reception and myself and fellow reception child mums are full of enthusiasm for the PTA but the majority of the rest of the parents appear not to be. They seem to feel that they did their bit when their kids started at the school and now they want to take a back seat.

I would like to draw more parents to the PTA and get a better sense of community going in the school. I want them to realise that the school belongs to their children and as their parents we can do so much to enrich their childs school experience.

All the money making events that the school could do are things that are enjoyable for the children and/or fun for adults to attend too. These are the things that a child remembers about their time at school. The class trips, the fetes, the barn dances etc.

How do I get reluctant mums and dads, who when they leave the school gates forget all about it, to want to be more involved with their PTA?

I want them to realise that they can have a big say in what the money they raise goes towards.

Any advice for me? Its my first meeting tomorrow night and I'm bricking it!

Anyone? Please.

Don't pin your hopes on the PTA meeting (assuming it's your standard monthly meeting) as you're likely to get the 'old stalwarts' at that type of meeting.

How about:

• a questionnaire asking parents what they want from the PTA/what sort of events they are most interested in, & what they'd like the PTA to be spending the money on
• an open meeting to gather ideas for events/gain feedback on how the PTA is doing/what people would like to change. Offering free wine helps attendance
• a letter to everyone sharing your vision for the PTA and asking for ideas, volunteers & asking parents to nominate funding suggestions
• stress that the PTA is open to all, and that coming along to a meeting doesn't mean your stuck signing up to every meeting - that there are lots of little/infrequent jobs you need help with.

Often, I think a new broom approach can really work - helps people who had crossed off the PTA re-engage with it - even if in reality little actually changes...

What really worked for our PTA was giving individuals specific roles and letting them run with those - delegate & empower . And never say no to anything - be really open to new ideas ... then ask the people with the ideas to make them happen!

I agree about doing something on a Saturday morning - a fun morning or a crafty morning or treasure hunt or similar - something that whole family can come to. Do refreshments included. You won't raise masses of money (if at all) but it will be great PR

Do you have a logo/branding or could it be updated? - running a design competition might be a good way of introducing yourself and getting people to talk about the PTA.

A regular weekly or monthly event might work at getting people engaged - a coffee morning, cake sale etc. Or do you run the second hand uniform sales? Or a book club?

Thanks. Will be glad when meeting is over.

Hi, I have PTA woes myself, I am full of ideas but the Chair is so mouldy conservative that we can do nothing new, so I am off to use my time elsewhere!

IMO you need an objective to galvanise parents. It is all well and good saying the PTA raise funds for school or whatever, but this is too intangible really. So set a brilliant and challenging aim and then go out to the parents and say 'we want to raise £10k for this amazing thing that will benefit YOUR CHILD in the following ways' and then ask the parents how to go about raising it. Or ask parents for suggestions for what to raise money for in the first place.

Too often PTAs decide everything themselves so the committee doesn't even communicate with parents why they exist.

Also be brave about approaching people. And very very grateful if anyone offers even ten minutes of time - make them enjoy themselves and they may just come back.

Ask people to do a specific job for a specific thing - that way they know they are not signing themselves up to "be on the PTA", but just do that job on that day.
Don't criticise / moan at people who say no - you have no idea what else they are doing or what else is going on in their lives. Accept there will always be a minority of parents who are enthusiastic about the PTA. Fact.
Thank people for helping out, and try to ensure they enjoy themselves and are listened too when they offer a suggestion or opinion, even if it's something you don't think would work necessarily.

At our school the classes would take it in turn to perform at morning assembly. The mums would be invited to attend and afterwards there would be coffee and biscuits. This helped to draw in the mums that never attended the formal events.

I think you need to decide what is the most important objective - creating a community spirit or raising money? Often the 2 do not coincide! Try running events that bring people together but which do not necessarily raise a lot of cash.

We have had a post Christmas family fun day. Hired in a kiddies entertainer, charged v low admission and got loads in on a wet Saturday afternoon in jan to share time. Parental involvement was low - few making tea coffee etc and a few selling cakes donated by parents.

Another idea is bags2school recycling drive. PTA gets paid for collection of recycling materials (old clothes) and patents get to have a clear out. This has been very popular and raises a few hundred pounds each time for not much involvement by PTA (letters, distribute bags and coordinate collection on the day).

Accept that not everyone will be as enthusiastic. For some parents this could be their 2nd, 3rd child through the school and they may have moved on to be more involved at their older child's school! (that's me!).

Don't bitch about me when I tell you I'm too busy with a full time job and five kids to get involved. Remember you want me to come to your event and dig deep. I used to go to fairs and part with fifty quid as I felt that was my way of contributing financially as I couldn't with time. However I got so fed up with the critical looks that I now avoid PTA events like the plague. Also remember PTA has a short shelf life for most people you will be fed up in 2 years like everyone else. But good luck as its a good thing you are doing

I would love to be more involved with the school but I work full time, I don't do the drop off's or pick ups and so much seems to be during the day, during the week. I have attended every weekend event they have run and almost every evening event but helping is more difficult. Could you hold an event on a Saturday morning with children's entertainment and have a meeting (coffee and cakes) for the parents. More people might be willing to come?

Evening meetings.

Wine at meetings

I want them to realise that they can have a big say in what the money they raise goes towards.

I think this is key, get home the msg that it's the PTA is fund-raising only (not school admin), for the children & when you fund raise make it clear what target you are aiming for each time, where the money will go. If something gets funded unexpectedly by other means, make it clear what the revised target is.

They seem to feel that they did their bit when their kids started at the school

They've got a point, "The world will be a much better place when education is properly funded and the Air Force as to hold cake sales to buy bombs", as us 1970s Lefties used to say.

Good luck :)

Our PTA meetings are usually quite poorly attended BUT when it comes to helping out at organised fundraisers we do tend to get a good response. We usually send out a letter requesting assistance a week or so before hand with a tear off reply slip with options along the lines of:

I can help set up the fair on Friday afternoon.

I can help finish setting up on Saturday morning.

I can help at the fair on a stall.

I can help at the fair in the kitchen.

I can help clear up afterwards.

This way parents don't feel pressured into doing everything - breaking it into chunks of assistance gives everyone a chance to do their bit without feeling they are tied up all day with the fair. Alot of parents (myself included) do seem to sign up for more than one thing anyway.

I do think for parents with older children the incentives are less, after all for a parent with their youngest child in yr6, why bother putting lots of effort into raising money for new playground equipment to be put in over the summer holidays which your child will never be able to use. This might not be a conscious position but it does seem harder the further up the school.

The family events sound like good publicity, maybe a family easter egg hunt. Also talking to the parents in each class about what their priorities might be. In yr 6 for example they could do a cake sale to raise money for leavers sweatshirt or something, whereas the lower years might be more inclinded to raise money towards longer term goals. Plus some more general whole school activities.

Make sure you vary meetings so some are daytime and some evening. We are a small school too but find its the working mums who contribute most to the PTA than the SAHM's so we always ensure we cater for that.

Ask people to do things, they may not volunteer but like to be asked.

Publicise what money is raised and how it has been spent. Give the children a say in new purchases.

I agree to varying meeting times. I find it quite annoying that our PTA only meets in the morning, changes are 99% I have to work on that day.

Ask the school to give annual/semi-annual list for purchase requests to parents. I don't mind contributing but it would be nice knowing where all the request for £1 here and £2 there are going to.

Working parents can be a great resource for paperwork related tasks. I volunteered years for the NCT and was allowed to use our office printer/copy machine for flyers etc. Also office staff has normally decent skills in Word/Excel/Power Point. I would be happy to do my bit but again, I hardly see the PTA.

Fairs etc - put on Weekends. We have a Christmas Carol do on a Saturday and it is packed, esp. with Dads as well. Or if asking for non cash-donations don't just tell people to drop it into the school, offer that it can be dropped off at somebody else's (PTA's) house on a pre-arrange evening. I would happy to participate in the cake sale but again, I am not there in the morning to drop my cake off.

When asking for help, ask for specific tasks. People may not volunteer generally because they think you put them in charge of something they won't feel comfortable. But if there is a list, people can see what's needed and may respond better.

Also make it clear that if they volunteer for one thing that they are not under any obligation to help again (if they don't want to!) Hopefully they will want to help again but I think that people put off helping as they think they will be lumbered forevermore!

Well, the meeting was last night. I didn't get a brilliant turn out but we seemed to have enough people and opinions to make the meeting work. I decided to just talk about what the parents and teachers would like to spend money on in school. This took 2 hours!

Feel I ought to give the parents who weren't at the meeting another chance to put forward their sugggestions. I did put up a comments box over a week ago and wrote to all parents asking them to use it before the meeting. No one did.
I will print a list of all the ideas for spending the money and ask people to choose their top three. Then hopefully when it comes to rallying folk for the next meeting to discuss the Summer Fayre they'll know what the money raised will go towards.

Thank you so much for all your advice. I need it!

Congrats on being chair. You are doing very important work, much of it will be thankless. But know that you are making a lot of things possible.

A couple of thoughts: why don't you involve the teachers in spending decisions. They know much better than parents what they need to improve things. Last PTA meeting we had a presentation from about five teachers across the curriculum requesting funding for certain equipment and/or projects. We were luckily able to fund most of these. It got everyone fired up to raise even more money.

Our Friday after school bake sales are a roaring success. Each year group takes on a sale (though if you're in a smaller school you might think of grouping years together), bakes and sells. Really popular event for everyone.

Realise that there are some people who are, no matter what, simply not going to get involved, because they don't want to or they don't have time. Also, bear in mind that some people might well have a little time to spare, but are reluctant to make a commitment because of work/family responsibilities. Make sure (particularly for summer fayre) that you have some "just show up" slots, where people can pop in and pitch in. Some are just more comfortable with that.

Remember to thank people. Lots. All the best!