Should teacher gifts be from the whole class or contributors only?

[SurreyisSunny]

I’m currently class rep for my DS’s year 1 class. Part of the rep job description (yes we really do have one) is arranging teacher gifts. This involves arranging a collection, finding out what the teachers want and buying the gifts. 40% of the total pot we have to transfer to an account for the support staff who get vouchers.

Im ok with this but for the Christmas gifts only about half the parents (so 14 plus myself) contributed but the gifts came from the whole class. I even arranged a personalised card with all their names on.

For end of year collection I’d prefer to just sign the card and have the gift from those who contributed. I’m concious that some have less money but only I see how much is contributed (for context at Christmas most gave £10-20). Also some may prefer to give their own gifts. We do have 2 TA parents who work at the school in the class.

Am I ok to just gift from those who’ve contributed? Interested in what others do

Here we write the names that contributed on the card

point being the rest I think (in the main) organise their own presents

Of course I still wouldn't care. I don't need someone being grateful to me individually for my contribution.

In the old days for work there would be a card come round and an envelope for money. Nobody was ever checking that someone had put their fiver in before allowing them to sign the card because that would be really weird. Now it's all online cards and money pots and similarly nobody is cross referencing them.

You’re not talking about work colleagues you’re talking about little kids

Even if you're in Scotland, these seems very previous

We did a collection for a colleague recently. I know some people who didn’t donate signed the card. I couldn’t care less!

Put everyone on the card anything else is dick behaviour.

I think that’s totally different because the card is written as being from the children, and they are not the ones deciding whether to contribute.

I’d just write “from X class”.

But like PPs, I’m also curious about this rep role, and who came up with the “job description”.

I think its ridiculous the way teacher gifts have escalated and its become the norm to have constant requests for money for gifts teaching (and sometimes over) £100.

To be @ in WhatsApp messages saying you need to contribute.

Teachers are amazing but its just getting silly now I think.

I also agree with this. My mum (a teacher) kept any cards that students wrote to her and she really loved getting those. She preferred that to another mug, or some chocolates. Not that she wasn’t grateful, she just thought it was unnecessary and felt a bit awkward about it.

ALL. I can’t believe you’re even asking this question.

Were the group of parents successful?

What if someone couldnt afford to gift? The whole idea seems selfish and tactless. People should gift if they can but I dont think it should be expected or havr such rigid rules.

When my sons were in primary I organised and made very clear that the contribution was volontary and whatever they could/wanted to. It ranged from 3-30. 70 % participated. I wrote the names of the children participating. The other wanted to give individual gift or nothing. One mother gave 3 probably because it's all she could afford which was absolutely fine.

I can’t believe teachers are allowed to accept such expensive gifts. So many public sector and voluntary sector workers are not allowed to accept gifts, or only of a very small value, not sure how state school teachers are any different

I think our class just put names of contributors on. The teachers not going to be reading out the contributors so the kid won’t know. I usually contribute to the class gift and give a small individual gift

Always felt uncomfortable with the gifting of teachers - it got to the point in dc's school where the teacher got and gushed over gifts at Christmas, Easter, Birthday and end of Year. It was too much - and every kid who didn't give felt the lack of attention from that gushing. I think it should be from everyone - but really I think it should be a gift to the school funds.

There was a thread around Christmas about this and several posters said they didn’t want to be included by name/child’s name in joint gifts if they hadn’t contributed for reasons from wanting to do their own thing to not wanting a teacher they didn’t like to think they’d donated.

It’s not at all as simple as the “name everyone you heartless cow” comments.

Put all the kids in the card. It's the parents who contribute NOT the kids. Jonny's mum not contributing, could reflect what SHE thinks of the teacher. Even if it does, that ISN'T what Jonny thinks of her, and it might not even be that. It could be that they are on a very low income, or that she's looking after a sick kid or husband or is sick herself and doesn't have the headspace. You would be really HORRIBLE to leave some kids out.

I agree with this. I have one child in year 7 and one in year 4 and I can’t see what having a ‘class rep’ would bring to the experience. Apart from the gift what do you do? It genuinely sounds like a job that someone with a lot of time on their hands would invent to make their lives feel busy.

At our school a gift or flowers are signed from "Sixth Grade".
No names.

Btw I dislike how big these gifts are today. It's ridiculous.

But you mustn't include children where the parents object to this nonsense of teacher gifts so don't contribute. I'd be really annoyed if you put their name on the card.

Same.

Which is why it is easier all ways round to just write "from X class" and not bother with any individual names.

As a teacher, if someone had to consciously save to afford a gift for me I would be mortified! None of us remember the expensive ones; we remember the plant that Jonny planted and painted the tin, we remember the bracelet that Amy made.
Gifts are sweet and appreciated but they aren’t a requirement or necessity.

I organised one of these once and I deliberately started off the PayPal collection with 3 quid from me to make that seem like the default amount but people still put in 15-20 and we ended up in the hundreds. I don't think teachers expect that and actually it's weird. So I didn't do it again. I did sign the card from the whole class though.