Member Survey 2009

PTAs are doing better than ever against the odds

The results of the NCPTA Member Survey show that PTAs are doing even better than ever despite the difficult economic conditions.  The average amount each Association contributes has increased again this year by £500 to £6,000 with an impressive 18% reporting that they contribute £10,000 or over.

In total, NCPTA members contribute a staggering £79 million to schools.  You all deserve a big pat on the back especially as 45% of you reported that the current economic climate is having an adverse effect on fundraising.

You’ve also told us that NCPTA is doing really well with the highest satisfaction and value for money ratings achieved in three years – 89% of you rate our service as excellent or good and 88% of you think NCPTA membership is good value for money.

The findings of the survey have highlighted the value you place on NCPTA’s guidance on legal matters for PTAs.  This is the first time that we’ve questioned you on this member benefit and we are delighted to find that this is regarded as very important by 85% of respondents.

However, we are concerned that there is little awareness of other key member benefits such as CAF Banking, Trust Funding, the LEAPP Awards, Web Builder and the partnership with Everyclick.  NCPTA will be working hard over the next year to make sure members know all about these and the benefits they provide.

It is clear that you value NCPTA’s role in representing PTAs and that you find NCPTA’s representation of parents to be useful: the majority of you feel that NCPTA should be taking the lead in providing a balanced parental view based on evidence.  Again you find NCPTA being featured in the national and regional media useful but place greatest value on gaining coverage for your Association in the local media. 

Demand for communication by email continues to grow with over 70% of you selecting this as your preferred option.  The survey has also captured for the first time that more than 50% of you are using email to communicate with parents.  There is also evidence that PTAs are starting to use other forms of technology such as SMS and blogs.  A large number of you (61%) have a web presence usually as part of the school’s website.

In total, just under 1,200 completed responses were received.  NCPTA is grateful to all those who participated as we know the survey was very long this year and the resulting information has already proved invaluable.