No parent association but informal forums/parent gatherings hosted by the school with fund raising also by the school
Strengths
- Eliminates the need for incorporation and registration of an association and the annual returns.
- Avoids the need to have a P&C committee and need to recruit parents to be office holders.
- It may encourage more parents to attend meetings at the school knowing they will not be harassed by P&C members seeking to get them onto the committee.
- Eliminates the need for P&C insurance and affiliation to the P&C Council.
- Eliminates the need for parents to raise funds to fund the P&C.
- Parent forums provide input directly to the school principal.
Weaknesses
- Relies solely on the school principal to arrange gatherings or forums for parents.
- Similarly, the school is solely responsible for raising additional funds for the school.
- Would place an additional workload on school staff.
- Does not give parents an independent voice in the school or educational matters.
- Fund raising will only be done by the school & parents will have no say in how funds raised will be spent.
- Reduces the idea of the school community and could make attracting volunteers to help in the school harde
Opportunities
- May attract more parents to events organised at the school.
- May better suit high schools and colleges where students prefer not to have their parents involved at the school?
Threats
- Without a P&C there will be little or no considered parent input to the school management from the wider parent community.
- The school will not be represented at the P&C Council level without a P&C delegate.
- Parents will have to rely solely on communication from the school on all education and school matters.
- Without a P&C parents with issues or concerns will not have a local school parent body to raise matters and seek peer support. This could lead to a loss of families from that school.
- Some parents may be invited to help organise but will have no liability protection if anything goes wrong.
Note: This option is currently operating to varying degrees in two high schools and two colleges.