OK!!!WHO'S ON THE PTA???!!!IS IT FUN??IS IT REALLY CLIQUEY????

[ihaveastupidquestion]

come on and dish the dirt. i am imminently joining our PTA and am slightly concerned (ok, I KNOW) that they are a bunch of well-meaning, but unimaginative ladies who like to shop at m&s and don't like anyone to rock the boat/break with tradition.

I'm takin 'em on!!!!

who's with me???!!!

any advice gratefully received cos actually i am scared witless.....

ihave, hope you don't mind me tagging on but I have a similiar query. My ds is starting school in Jan 2008 and I was thinking about getting involved - prob is I'm a single mum who works full time - do PTA's cater for this or is it pretty much a SAHM/flexi working mums domain?

tbh, I think you'd find it v difficult time-wise. Best thing may be to see how it functions, go along to events and support the school that way, bake the occasional cake if you can etc etc.

Atmosphere on mine used to be ok when I first joined, though current chair (then deputy) was a real nay-sayer and I was dreading her Rise to Power. I was right to in some ways, though not all the ones I expected. She's done a better job in a few respects, but still can't wait to see the back of her. Mood is now very much that if you're not in the fairy ring, they'll gang up and bully you. I'm useless at this kind of thing and am so glad that they've so far not actually done it in front of DD as I would hate her picking up my lack of response. I keep telling myself that it's a faith school, so turning the other cheek when I really want to deck them is probably a good thing . I just wish I felt sure it will change when we get rid of the chair, though she'll be lurking in the background - her youngest will finally leave the school in July, ending 15 years of her having kids there, but she now works there. She won't pass on her knowledge to the person who's volunteered to take over and no one else has stepped up (probably don't dare). I was laid off this week, so have a bit of time right now, but was working full-time and fitting stuff into the evenings and don't appreciate this c**ppy attitude.

CS1753, I think you're wonderful to think about it. I sort of agree with Rantothehills in terms of your peace of mind, but if you leave it all to the SAHMs, they will never make it flexible enough for the rest of us. Think you being a single mum is enough though, so don't do the main functions (like treasurer, secretary, etc) - my PTA offers lots of involvement that's reasonably limited, like selling tickets for events, etc that's still very valuable and you might manage that sometimes to work colleagues. Otherwise, sure - make cakes, consider running a stall at a fair, help with counting up after an event - loadsa stuff.

have had a completely different experience, ours is very friendly and welcoming, they invite questions about what they are doing/have doneetc.

the head and eputy usually come along to meetings and there is, as far as i can see, an adult discussion about things raised.

Generally seem committed to bettering fcilities for the kids and are desperate for new people to join so that the workload is shared.

Good for you for going for it, especially if it is not so straightforward......can you get a small posse of peple who are dissatisfied to join with you?

You might have more influence as a parent member of the board of governors....just a thought...

It's a good way to meet people and get involved. There is so much animosity on these boards towards the PTA, it's ridiculous.

The PTA is made up of people who want to help the school raise money. This extra money buys extras for your children - musical instruments, school trips, theatre perfomances, special themed weeks. It does not turn away help. People who know each other are not cliques. It's called social interaction and it's normal.

I quite like making decisions about how the PTA spends its money. There was some proposed spending at our last meeting that I didn't like (extravagant and of little benefit) and I was able to argue my point and stop it.

I think it's good that you're thinking of helping.

Volunteer for Board of Governors where there is influence but avoid PTAs where there is none.

I do not understand why we have PTAs.

I wish my kids independent school PTA would stop doing stuff. I just think we should all pay £100 more per year in fees and forget the whole fundraising thing - which is all they seem to do.

I wish instead we could have a big termly Parent - Governor meeting (like an AGM for a company) where we could all go and ask questions and make suggestions.

IT WOULD BE A LOT MORE USEFUL!