For a Parents Association
Four steps, and only two of them are yours
Parents Associations bring in most of the after-school activities in Irish primary schools, and usually end up doing the administration for them as well. This one is set up so that does not happen.
How it actually happens
- 01
Ask the school whether they are open to it
Nothing else can happen first. Most schools want to know that somebody has asked before they spend any time on it, and a Parents Association asking carries more weight than a provider emailing.
- 02
Send one email
Say which class groups you have in mind and roughly how many children you think would be interested. A guess is fine. A written quotation with the exact figures comes back, and nothing is committed by asking.
- 03
Let families see it
There is a one-page sheet made for exactly this, with the day, time, dates and cost left as blank lines because they are different for every school. Print it for the noticeboard or attach it to the newsletter.
- 04
That is the association's part finished
Enrolment, payment and parent questions are handled by Little Chess Explorers unless the school would rather keep them in a system it already runs. The association does not collect money and does not chase anybody.
The numbers, before anybody asks you for them
| Class groups | Session | Minimum to run | Comfortable size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior & Senior Infants | 45 minutes | 8 children | 12, up to 16 |
| 1st & 2nd Class | 50 minutes | 8 children | 14, up to 16 |
| 3rd to 6th Class | 60 minutes | 10 children | 16, up to 18 |
What it costs the association
Nothing. Families book and pay directly, so no money passes through the association and there is no float to carry and no refunds to administer.
What it costs a family
The current Dublin range is around 10 to 12 euro per child per session, booked as a block. The exact figure is set per school and comes in writing, because session length and block length differ.
If not enough sign up
The group does not run and nobody is charged, including families who have already booked. The association is not left explaining a cancellation it had no part in.
For the next meeting
A paragraph you can put straight on the agenda
Copy it, change anything you disagree with, and put it in front of the meeting. It is written to be read aloud in under a minute.
An after-school chess programme has been proposed for the school, run by Little Chess Explorers. It covers Junior Infants to 6th Class, with three separate programmes rather than one class for everybody, and it is taught by somebody with degrees in primary education and early childhood education.
Families book and pay directly, so it does not come out of the school budget and no money passes through the association. The school provides a room for one afternoon a week and a named contact. Groups run one after another so more than one age group can be covered on the same afternoon.
The suggestion is to start with one short block, take an honest written review of how it went, and decide about continuing after that rather than before.
Ask anything first
A question from a Parents Association is not a commitment and is not treated as one. There is no follow-up sequence: you get an answer, and nothing else unless you ask for it.