PTAextra Magazine Spring 2024 | Page 29

Running your PTA

We ’ ve got a group of parents who complain about what the PTA does and our events , but they never get involved . How should we handle this ?

We ’ ve got a child with some medical issues that none of our volunteers have ever had any experience dealing with and we ’ re a bit nervous about them attending our disco without one of their parents present . We want to make sure everyone can come along and don ’ t want to upset anyone by excluding this child . What would you advise ?

I would suggest working with the parents . They don ’ t want their little one to miss out on the fun the other children are having , but they also want to feel that their child is safe and with people who know what they are doing . Ask the parents to attend this initial event with their child and offer advice to your volunteers – they know their child ’ s needs the best . They may also be able to suggest a charity that offers information about their child ’ s condition , giving your committee members reassurance that they are as informed as they possibly could be . It may also be worth talking to the parent to see if they are happy for their child ’ s teacher to offer support at the event , if the teacher is experienced and willing to do so .

I would offer to have a meeting with these parents and explain that the committee members are all volunteers who do this in their spare time and are trying their best . You could also remind them that helpers are really important and it would be much more fun for everyone if they could support you and get involved in the events .

Try to deal with their issues and reassure them , but at some point , the committee will need to take control of the situation . You could adopt a complaints policy and , if they continue , ask them to follow the formal procedure , put their complaint in writing , and discuss this as a committee before responding to them in writing . Once you ’ ve done this , tell them you will not be entering into any more conversations about the same issues – and be firm about this . We have a number of model policies on our website , including a complaints procedure , which you can find here : parentkind . org / pta-constitution

A parent has put their name forward for a volunteer role at an event , but there are rumours about them that make us doubt their suitability . What do we do ?

Rumours are exactly that and you do need to be careful how you manage the situation . Your committee would need to mitigate circumstances based on the potential issue . Depending on what the rumour is , this could mean inviting them to help prepare for the event behind the scenes rather than at the event itself , or giving them a role that doesn ’ t include handling money . Unless you have concrete proof of something , you need to tread very carefully .

Got an issue you need advice on ? Contact Clare and her team :

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