Why you should join the PTA - The Times 14 May 2011
An old article (with out-dated links) with some great "quotes" and comments from Trudy
"Forget any worries about being seen as 'worthy' and embarrassingly do-goody, joining up will make a huge difference."
There's no playground where parents meet at secondary school, so it's an even harder job to get volunteers to help.
Back in 2022 "I was going to take over the PTA but make it fun", "no railroading reluctant parents into helping out, no woebegone pleas to other mothers to 'just do what you can'. "With easy-going, fun me at the helm everyone would want to join in. And then I discovered that fun is in short supply when you’re trying to get people to do things that they don’t want to."
Being chair is turning out to be a bit of a challenge, due to lack of resources, "but also the most rewarding".
Believe me when I say I've tried all sorts: Parent surveys with the incentive of free wine for one lucky survey respondent, leaflets on seats at parents information evenings and handed out at events, and numerous emails and social posts out to all.
But nothing much seems to be working - Why?
"Volunteer work can be tricky. You have no real position and you can’t boss people about with the safety net of being their employer."
"An effective PTA can make an enormous difference not only to a school’s ability to buy much-needed extracurricular equipment but also, almost as importantly, to its reputation and standing in the community. The PTA is the body through which a parent helps the whole school, not just their own child."
Trudy Goldsack - LFA Chair 2022-2025 (Yr11 class of 1987)
Mum to Holly (Yr11 class of 2025) and Esther (Yr13 class of 2024)
