Get involved

Get involved with your child’s secondary school

When your child starts Year 7, you may decide it’s time to play a more active role in their school.

Most schools will have a PTA, Parents Association or Friends of… group, which can be a great way of getting to know staff and other families while making a real contribution to the quality of school life for all.

Fundraising remains a major part of a PTA or similar organisation’s activities and directly contributes to improvements from new books and computers to covering the cost of field trips.

But they can also help to improve the school’s links with the wider community which can bring many benefits.

Parentkind, which is the largest network of PTA fundraisers in the UK, says: “PTA members also provide a willing workforce for the school when extra hands are needed, hold social events to bond the school community, run extra-curricular clubs for children and adults, and support parents through times of change.”

There are said to be many benefits from joining a PTA – both for you and your son and daughter.

Firstly, becoming a member makes it easy to get to know people at the school, from the headteacher and teachers, to other parents. Events run by the PTA, from a disco for pupils to the annual summer fete, are usually fun and are great for bringing the school together as a community. Teachers, parents and pupils alike get stuck in and enjoy themselves.

According to Parentkind, being part of the PTA helps parents to understand how things in the school work. If the PTA is well supported by the teachers, you will realise how much they value the support it brings to the school.

There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that when parents are engaged in a school, a child’s attainment is improved because being involved in school shows that you think it’s important.

Parentkind says that it’s not uncommon for parents to feel unsure about getting involved with the PTA, there’s an assumption that you will be expected to commit large chunks of time to the school, but that’s not the case.

Any help you can provide is usually very much appreciated, and in return you will receive a huge sense of satisfaction and most likely a new group of friends.

There could be other ways for you to get involved in your child’s school, so it’s worth asking about any schemes they run.

Some schools recruit parent helpers to help children with reading or maths, share their skills and interests and provide careers advice.

They may also be involved in running after-school clubs or wider fundraising such as grant applications. n For more information about Parentkind, which provides specialist fundraising support and advice to parent volunteers and PTAs, go to parentkind. org.uk