Canberra Preschool Society

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What is a Parent Association?

It is possible that you never questioned the option of your child participating in the ACT preschool program. According to our research, most parents choose to enroll their child into the non-compulsory preschool system simply that it is just the next stage in their child’s social development. Many parents are also looking to the preschool to prepare their child for "big" school in the following year.
What is the Preschool Parent Association?
Since the 1940s, our high quality ACT preschool education system has enjoyed the benefits of productive and authentic relationship between the families and the preschool teaching staff. Instrumental to this productive relationship is the Preschool Parent Association - an independent, community organisation whose purpose is to:
promote interest in, and understanding of, pre-school children, their families and community; and
ensure that a suitable educational environment is established and maintained at the Pre-school, by:
co-operating with the ACT Department of Education and Training, and
maintaining the affairs of the Pre-school properly within the responsibility of the Association.
The responsibilities of the Association have traditionally been: resourcing, cleaning and day-to-day fiscal operation of the preschool entity. Since the 1940's the Preschool Parent Association have resourced the preschool system - amassing over $6.6 million in educational and teaching resources that are absolutely vital to the quality of the program. Those resources are owned and maintained by the Preschool Parent Association and they are utilised by the preschool teaching staff in their programming.
How does the Preschool Parent Association get it's members?
Parents become members of their Preschool Parent Association upon the enrollment of their child for the year. This means, that there is virtually a complete annual turnover of membership and for each new set of parents a very steep learning curve about how it all "happens". This learning-curve has been becoming a greater issue - particularly as more and more parents have chosen to enroll their child in the session that operates over the 2 "long" days and supplement the program with a separate long-day childcare program.
Life is no longer like post-war Canberra - it is a reality that both parents are working and juggling a young family. So whilst parents automatically become members of the Preschool Parent Association - that does not mean that they are available to participate in what has been traditionally an intensive volunteer-based program.
2008 will issue in a new era for ACT preschool education, preschool will become the non-compulsory first year at each Government primary school. This changes supports the new ACT Curriculum Framework as the Preschool year is the first of four years called the "Early Childhood Band".
These significant developments have also afforded the opportunity to change how the ACT Preschool Parent Association operates and what they are responsible for. We are keen to ensure that the vital importance of the family early years network is not lost. Preschools are valued and valuable community-hubs that are central to the lives of all young families in the ACT. The Preschool Parent Association is the key to that network.
The Role of the Preschool Parent Association (PPA)
Voluntary resourcing donations
The PPA are responsible for managing their own operational budget. They need to raise enough funds to cover the costs associated with maintaining their Association including: the provision of public liability, adequate contents and personal accident insurance for PPA members and their immediate families whilst participating in preschool events (including excursions and fund-raising activities off the preschool property). The other main financial responsibilities lie within the provision of preschool teaching and program resources and affiliation fees to the CPS. These funds are derived from voluntary resourcing donations. Should there be a shortfall in the funding there may be a need to undertake a few fundraising activities, which can be managed jointly between the PPA and the primary school's P&C.
Curriculum involvement
PPAs assist the teachers of the preschool in the delivery of the education program, through voluntary help (in-school activities, excursions, etc.) and also the provision of educational resources, equipment and consumables.
Building community relationships
The PPA raises community awareness of the school and of early childhood education as a whole. Parents, children and the community all share the benefits of a strong interaction between the PPA and the wider community.

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