Getting involved with the PTA?

by Julia Howarth

People are peering round the smart, ash-veneered door, wide-eyed and curious. In ones and twos they warily sidle into the large room to be greeted by the smartly dressed Caroline and Jane - the two bubbly representatives from the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations.

The evening seminar is soon under way, the room almost full to capacity with parents and representatives from primary and secondary schools right across the South West. Any shyness is soon shoved under our chairs along with our welcome packs, handbags and coffee cups. After a brief introductory speech from David Butler, NCPTA Chief Executive, we divide into three groups and set about our given tasks of brainstorming ideas and practices.

Although complete strangers until ten minutes ago, we all share obvious similarities: we are all parents and all serve on parent teachers associations for our children’s schools but it soon becomes apparent that we share one, far more dominant but crippling quality as well. Something that has lured us all here. And in some cases clearly as a last resort.

Frustration. Frustration with trying to get other parents involved in their children’s school; frustration from trying to ensure fundraising initiatives are sufficiently supported and frustration from lack of ideas to overcome the first two.

The NCPTA is the parent body which oversees and supports Parent Teacher Associations throughout the UK. They have a website packed with information and ideas, along with legal advice and support. Their flyer advertising this seminar was initially met by Joe’s (our PTA Chairwoman) and my (the PTA Secretary) amused derision but as PTA novices and still a little shaky about our abilities, we opened our minds and decided to give it a try.

So, what did we learn at this meeting? What was so amazing about it? Well, we entered that room as two dispirited and sarcastic parents but those two hours cooped up with like-minded desperados changed us. Realising that many of the PTAs represented there comprised only two people, suddenly our pitiful committee of five didn't feel quite so bad. It gave us hope and reassurance that we were not alone.

In an ideal world, our schools would be sufficiently funded. They’d have plenty of books; enough money to subsidise school trips and as soon as anything needed replacing it would happen. Just like that, so PTAs wouldn’t be needed in the first place. But our schools are more stretched now then ever before and curricular demands place ever-increasing strains on already paper thin budgets. So, as parents of our children and custodians of our schools, the work of the PTA is more important than ever.

‘It’s nice to be involved with the school, to know what’s going on a bit more and to put something back in when your children are getting so much out,’ says Lorna Souch, treasurer of the Grove School PTA in Totnes, Devon. ‘It takes people to do that. And it’s always the same people willing to do it too but the children would miss out otherwise.’

Serving on your child’s school PTA is not the burden of drudgery you might imagine and can actually be quite a laugh. It’s an ideal way to meet other parents and staff and learn more about the school, especially if you are new to the area as well as boosting your confidence. And it’s a great plus point to add to your CV if your thinking about returning to work and, as I’ve found from contact with the local business community, people have nothing but respect for parents who get involved in their child’s education in this way.

"The benefits of being a PTA volunteer are many and, with the diversity of PTA activity, varied," says Jane Galbraith, membership development manager at the NCPTA. "Research clearly shows a link between parental involvement at school and the positive impact on your child's attainment. PTA volunteering is just one of the ways parents can have an active role within school and enhance the school experience for many children including their own."

Buoyed by our new found determination and gritted teeth, Joe and I left the seminar with renewed hope and ran a leafleting campaign to parents appealing for help. The message got through and we had several people come forward and our PTA meetings are better attended now. Six weeks later, we had the most profitable school fair our children’s school had seen in years. And, thanks to the NCPTA, we have plenty more ideas in the pipeline?

You can visit the NCPTA website at www.ncpta.org.uk

Julia Howarth has morphed from a graphic designer into a freelance writer and is currently in her third year serving on her children’s school Parent Teachers Association.