This morning we posted a link on our Facebook page to an extremely funny article on fundraising in school entitled "Sponsorship
money, raffles and more bloody cakes’: where’s the fun in fundraising?"
It's a great read.
We were equally impressed with the response
to the article from Emma Williams of PTA UK, which we are posting in full
below…
For those parents reading this who are
about to embark on the school journey, the good news is that Claire Macintosh’s
witty, but slightly depressing account of PTA life is not the full picture.
The BIG message is that PTAs are not all
about baking cakes; it's about showing children how to get involved with a
community in a selfless way, with parents as partners of the school, working to
support their child's education. Sure, fundraising for schools (our members
raised £120M for schools last year) is a part of this, but actually it’s all
about enhancing children's learning and wider school experience.
If your child sees you actively
participating in their school, showing that you care about their school life,
then it makes them care more in turn.
In fact, research shows that “the effect
of parental engagement over a student's school career, is the equivalent of
adding an extra two to three years to that students education”. [John Hattie,
Visible Learning 2008].
So handing over the cash just doesn’t quite
cut it. That is why 75% of our schools in the UK have PTAs and why PTA UK is striving
for a PTA in every school.
The good news for the PTA volunteers, is
that we hear the cries for more help. Over the next 12-18 months, we are
launching a number of initiatives to speak out to parents to tell them how
important it is to be involved. Watch this space: www.pta.org.uk
Emma Williams, Executive Director PTA UK
