to ask you not to buy Christmas presents for teachers.

[Crabapple99]

I have seen several threads on the topic, so want to give my point of view and experiences.

1. Many staff are not allowed to accept a gift above a certain value ( £3 in my school) so these big gifts, especially class gifts, leave staff in a very difficult situation, causing all sorts of paperwork and recording, and leaving us open to accusations of favouratitsm from families, and other allegations

1. Many staff don't want gifts, quite often the item is unwanted, even edibles, if the box is big, heavy, and we already have too much to eat over christams. It is also embarrassing to have to accept.

1. Many staff worry about the reason for the gift, especially if it seems some pupils and their parents feel pressure to keep up: I've been given gifts in the past that when I know the family can't afford even a couple of pounds, it makes me feel terrible. I've had gifts in the past which I suspected were stolen, which makes me feel worse.

1. I don't really think there is a problem with Christmas cards, but even then, as someone who could easiluy have 300 pupils on my timetable, even then that can get a bit overwelming, not to say meaningless.

1. A very small token, such as one of those tiney boxes from thornton's with just two chocolates in, is a nice way of acknoledging when a teacher has really gone above and beond, for your child, but even that is unnessesary rreally.

Hope I'm not coming across as a scrooge! I love christams, but dread this aspect of it.

Just to let you know crab I'm still here and, to quote the Charlie & Lola episode I endured watched with DD this morning, "happy to help". Just one little PM.

Norfolcarolsingers, I am not going to be specific about where I work, because I say enough on here to identifiy myself, however, it isn't hard, I spent bout 10 minutes googling, and foiund one council that set a limit of £25, one that set a limit odf £10, and one that banned giftds altogether, for acadamies you would probably have to contact he school directly and ask.

No, I am saying you set yourself up if you say you're a qualified patholgust, or that a child who takes a week off in Reception will be an attendance problem in secondary school and take it from you because you know . And that's aside from the mad gift cupboard, which no one else has come across.

Agree with Tarquin, it's the parents at these schools in particular who need to know this information.

interesting...

Been a teacher for a few years now and on behalf of me I would like to say I love Christmas cards!. Last year I told my top set year 8 class that they could only have a fun maths lesson if I had received a total of 30 Christmas cards (I had 15 already). Half the boys promptly made me a card and brought it to me by the next lesson. It might have been my card and only a drawing of a snowman but I loved it! This year I didn't need to ask only say in a rather excited way "This is my first Christmas card!" and I got another drawn (on my card) signed off by "all your class". This actually made my day! 300 Christmas cards? That is truly crazy - last year I pushed for them and only got 40.

I'd like to ask though... these schools where teachers are getting expensive gifts, or gifts at all... are they private schools? I've had 2 gifts in the past 3 years and these were by my tutor group who I didn't teach, personally I agree that I would rather not accept them.

feenie, woud you prefer me to preetend I am not a qualified pathologist?????

No, I am saying that people would have found it (slightly) easier to believe if you had spelled it correctly.

I don't hide the problem, I htink it's actually very helpful to others , particularly children who struggle with literacy, to see it needn't hold you back. I'vevgot ways of coping when teaching, to be sure my presentation is proffesionel, but I'm not going to go through all theat rigeramole here and now, sitting on the bed, relacxing, waiting for the tea to cook.

I vaguely remember being told something similar about not accepting gifts or to declare them to the LEA. I work in a school in Surrey

We all ignored it, of course....

coconutty, if a tutor form the school contacted you and asked to be abkle to continue to teach an inmate through email/letters/ visits would you say NO!?

crab - most of your spelling "mistakes" involved using the letter next to the one on the keyboard you should have used - that is called typing quickly and not proof reading what you have typed!

Coconutty - I was wondering about that!!

I strongly suggest using spell check. HTH.

in my experience it is never outright refused, Cocnutty, it is more likely that transfers, new staff, moving wings, etc disrupt it, but if someone is still undr 18 when they come out, they might well want to finish their qualifications, in fact mught be more motivated to, so why not helpd the keep up while they ae insdie?

Not htat I have ever had a difficulty with gifts being given from prisoners, more the other way areound, we always try and slip something little in for a birthday, but it is technically against the rules, so has to be done on the quiet, even just a little bar of chocolate or something is better than seeing a child spend a birthday behind bars with nothing. Never been caught, but I sespect that is largly the warders choosing not to notice rather than the level of cunning that we have disguised the gifts with

The thing is Crapapple, I've been teaching for 20 years and I have never received an inappropriate gift, or one that was of excessive monetary value and made me feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.

I've received mugs, plants, flowers, ornaments, chocolate, wine, cake, pens, gloves and loads of other lovely gifts. Some of them aren't to my taste but, just as I do if I receive gifts from friends that aren't really me I say an appreciative thank you and then, later on donate them to a charity shop in another town

The main thing for me is the fact that the gifts are given and received with pleasure and goodwill.

I've just reread and edited my post because I had put pants instead of plants, now that would have been inappropriate

crabapple you are just full of it, dear.

Still, it has amused us all so thanks !

Dyslexia? Hmmm. Your posts don't indicate dyslexia to me. I wouldn't refer you for that. Your misspellings bear no relation to the kind that I've ever seen in a dyslexic's writing. Do you think you might be a tiny bit of a fantasist? Or a weeny bit bonkers?

so, crabapple. just to recap:

• you are a qualified teacher

-you are a qualified pathologist -you are the YOI/prison liaise between your LEA and HMP service -you also teach in a centre for children of illegal immigrants - Yarl's wood or some such. -you are dyslexic

have I got it all or have I missed summat?

Hey donnie, I'm waiting to hear that she works for MI5. Among other things. What a talented, influential person n'est pas?

indeed Whatever.....I am in awe!

1, 2 and 3 are particularly and

You have to fill out forms for a present over £3? What if it's from a charity shop but looks like £4 new? Does that account for a small section of rainforest being cut down and filled in and sent to the gleeful red tapers? What if the kid spent their own money on you and you just sent them off because you didn't want the gift, didn't care about why people give them, etc etc.
You already have too much eat over Christmas- definite Scrooge, sorry!

I am a teacher and I love getting Christmas cards. I teach over 200 pupils. I feel appreciated when I get cards or gifts, however small. It is the fact that someone thought of you.

This thread is bonkers. Surreal.

My very favourite teacher ever was my history teacher at high school. His room was covered in posters of cartoon characters.

For Christmas in, I think year 9, I bought him a tie pin and cufflinks of his favourite cartoon character. They cost me £15 which was a day's wages from my Saturday job.

He nearly cried, he loved them and wore them often for work. He was ace.

If he'd have turned round and refused them I would have been gutted.

Can't think of anything worse than throwing kids gifts in the bin - I would hope the parents would complain at the OP's school if they found this out.

I work for a local authority and although we do have a gift register, teachers are not required to register any gifts -I'm presuming as they are technically employed by the school, so it would not apply to them.

And equally it just wouldn't be appropriate (and it would be time consuming) for them to record every gift they were given.

In fact I am going to raise this on Monday with HR to see what our policy is, as I just don't believe that any school would allow gifts from children to be thrown in a skip.

Disgraceful.

YABU. My DD loves her science teacher this year, and knows that her science teacher's favourite thing is Jaffa Cakes. So DD saved up her pocket money, and bought her science teacher one of those 'mile of Jaffa cakes' thing, when they were on offer for £3. She didn't do it to bribe the teacher - but because she LIKES the teacher, and she knew the teacher loves jaffa cakes.