Teachers opinions please!!

[blacksocks33]

What do you appreciate as a end of school year gift?
I know everyone normally does bottles of wines, cakes etc... but what is a nice gift and what normally gets wasted?
I got a big box of biscuits ast year thinking they can be eaten next term....
I don't have a lot to spend and have two children 🙈
Also my son wouldn't dream of writting a nice card, despite him loving his teacher! 🙈

And I do want to get something to say thank you! It's a wonderful school and the teachers are amazing! 😊

DD got the teacher who runs netball club a personalised whistle. She loved it!

rather than think of it like what do “teachers” want

think more…. what’s a nice gift for someone i don’t know very well

gift vouchers

As a teacher I do not expect any gifts but it is lovely to get a homemade card. As you would like to get a gift what about a pen. ? Us teachers always use pens and I received three a few years ago ( the more the merrier as we can never have enough. You can get a nice one for a couple of pounds.

Honestly a lovely hand made card saying a really personalised message eg ‘Dear Ms Blended Dogs - you have made my life totally different. I have learnt so much from you …..’ eg is perfect - you don’t need to spend money. My cards are what I treasure the most. I also love my personalised mug, a student who had asked my favourite chocolate bar and brought me a whisper. I treasure those.

other gifts very appreciated are Amazon gift card, gin, chocolates - be aware that anything over £30 ish in my school needs approval.

Is there something the teacher is particularly in to? A specific book or something? My classes always knew I love Harry Potter and Disney. My DD’s current teacher loves Taylor Swift. We try to get something based on that.

A box of biscuits is always much appreciated too!

If money is tight then please don’t buy anything. If the teachers have really helped then send a letter to the head/governors!

If you want to buy something stationary always goes down well!

DD is a primary school teacher, she’s honestly happiest with a card the kids have made and put effort into.

We all chip in £5 per teacher and get a gift voucher from the whole class.

The last school I was a governor at stopped gifts as it was getting competitive amongst parents and imo was unfair as parents usually only bought for the class teacher and often ignored the TA, support staff in the office, kitchens and maintenance.

Like others say, a nice card with appreciative words. Otherwise, nice biscuits or chocolate! Especially in a nice tin.

so you ignored them all 😆

I would write a card from you and also e-mail the head to say how brilliant the teacher has been. This latter is definitely the best way of saying thanks.

You could take in a small bunch of flowers with the card or ask your child if the teacher likes hot drinks and if so get a coffee shop voucher.

That’s very kind of you, but if your son won’t do a card then a card from a parents perspective is still very appreciated.

A gift is t necessary and any gesture will be appreciated and valued. You can’t go too far wrong because teachers often swop things if they receive something that doesn’t suit them.

So best gift is a card from the child. A small child appr gift from the child is one route. A gift from a parent might be a more grown up gift - gift voucher is safe unless there is a collective gift from parents which is likely to be a gift voucher. A long time ago, a fairly wacky dressing parent - tartan leggins, giant fluffy poncho wearer - bought a black and white skull and crossbones design scarf for class teacher. Risky, I’d have thought although as a parent she was a good, fun and generous person

Monetary gifts were stopped - nothing to stop a child making a card to thank the teachers and other school staff.

When I was a child in junior school our class had to write a story and then go to the adjoining infant school and read it to groups of children. I'd written quite a long story because I've always loved writing. Not long after, the children in the infant school wrote thank you letters to whoever's story they enjoyed the most. I received the most letters, detailing how much they liked my story and what their favourite bits were. I've always kept those letters some forty years later, so I can imagine as a teacher a card with a personal message would be the best gift.

so you wrote to all the support staff instead of gifts?

ah apologies you were governor but not a parent

Aww thank you all!
So it sounds like a nice home made card would be a good shout... and then maybe a big box of biscuits from M&S as they'll stay in date from September!
I like the stationary suggestion! She likes Star Wars so will see what's about 😅

I know theres 2 TAs and then another teacher does pe.... it gets a bit much wanting to buy for everyone but also don't want to leave anyone out as they're all amazing!

imo was unfair as parents usually only bought for the class teacher and often ignored the TA, support staff in the office, kitchens and maintenance.

What a strange attitude. Gifts should only be bought if people want to, and for staff who they feel have made a real difference to their individual child. This might often happen with a teacher, or a 1:1 TA. I can't see that it would with kitchen or maintenance staff. Obviously they work hard and do essential jobs, but that's not really what a gift from a child is about.

Send a card - whoever writes it, and e-mail the head to say how much you appreciate the teacher / class staff. I have received many gifts over the years, but what I have most treasured have been those very few occasions when a parent has taken the time and trouble to get in touch with the head with a positive message.

exactly
i have no desire to spend money on maintenance or the kitchen

teacher however…. yes

I always gave Oxfam donations-education related ones. They seemed to go down well-you can have too many Best Teacher mugs!

With extremely difficult financial times, gifts (esp too expensive) are not something most teachers would expect, or want. The last thing they want is for parents to feel pressured into getting something they cannot afford, or only get because they think 'it is the done thing.'
I agree with emailing the head teacher, and a thank you card written out by the child is amazing. If you really want to get something some stickers to top supplies up, coffee voucher all go down well.