Local Council has banned teacher gifts

[Originalfoogirl]

Our Local Authority has advised schools to send a letter to parents stating that they should not buy Christmas gifts for teachers as it goes against their policy on employees accepting gifts.

Our school has not sent a letter (yet), but it's very well publicised locally that others have.

I'm not big on teacher gifts anyway but did want to give a little something to her TAs who are excellent and go above and beyond. Should I ignore what I know, given the school haven't (yet) sent a letter. They are really bad at timings and I expect a letter on the second to last day or something! Not ideal if you have already bought something.

Or, would making a donation to the school be a better idea?

Thoughts?

I apologise fornthe spelling, my phone seems to be on it's last legs and isn't quite cooperating

our dc's school has a 'no individual gifts' policy. which I whole heartedly agree with.
yes, class teachers work hard, but what about the tas, sprcial subject teachers, admin staff, dinner staff, care taker etc?

NamechNge. No. From pupils. Please don’t tell me what I remember from my own childhood. It isn’t new.

Good I'm glad as well. Sick of being elbowed out the way by the richer parents in my kids class with their expensive wine and chocolates and gift baskets and there's me with a little home card and a thank you letter.

Dd3 teacher said what she appreciated the most was the little cards and letters,meant more to her than anything expensive etc

Good!

I do think its necessary to intervene.

Our class rep has been organising collections for teachers at summer and christmas since YrR. Suggested contribution £10 per kid. So £280 (well £270 because we never do it). 70% for the teacher and 30% for the TA (equitable right?) One year they gave them Next vouchers. Fucking preposterous.

My kids make them cards. It's enough.

I would and have chipped in for a leaving gift for exceptional teachers (one emigrating, one retiring) to buy things that were a bit more meaningful.

I wish that would catch on down here in the South West. It's presents galore here and I really can't afford to join in this year.

I'm just completely opting out this year.

Good, it's about time that it was stopped.

Namechange90 cardibach
is correct my dad used to come home with enough chocolate to last us til Easter and loads of wine.He taught in an affluent area in the 80s and there was definitely competitive gift giving from parents

This is probably the council being anal and attempting to comply with bribery and corruption legislation - taken to a new ridiculous level - we can't accept anything from customers without running it by our "specialist B&C team"

Bottles of whiskey at Christmas are a long since buried tradition in ,y corporate world.

I think it's fine to ban class collections and hundreds of pounds worth of vouchers but ds likes giving his teachers small gifts for Christmas and at the end of term. We are giving nice chocolate to each of his teachers and little tins with hand cream to his psa and the lady in the office who has helped me him out on occasions. i wouldn't like not to be able to do this. Our school has a ethos of generosity and giving, obviously not just material, and I feel showing thanks and gratitude with small gifts (or cards or letters) if you wish is part of this. The children usually get a small gift from their teacher too.

Well that's it then - I'm quitting if I'm not getting any presents!

I'd ignore the letter of it came home here, we've always done presents and will continue too. I know very very few teachers that don't go above and beyond their job description.

it doesn’t sit well with me that a teacher in a state school can have an additional £150 without it being declared
Oh come on.
We make cards and add a small gift the same way we do to the cleaner, nanny, colleagues, friends children... none of them see that as revenue

I like cards with nice messages in them. I keep them in random books, so when I re-read the book, there’s a lovely surprise that reminds me of the child. Teacher gifts are certainly not a recent idea, it’s just the last decade or so that it has become insanely expensive with class rep enforcers and I hate that. Bits and bobs are good, I also have a decoration that Rehana made for my tree when she was 6. She’ll be 32 now and I still remember her when I decorate!

I'm always surprised that people stress about what to buy teachers who are paid to do their job yet ignore volunteers for guides and scouts etc.

In my school, we have to declare any gifts we receive worth over £10. I have never needed to declare anything and would be very surprised to receive anything more than a small box of chocs.

I have always bought booze for my son’s teachers and his TA. They bloody earn it. I would continue to do so even if the Loval Authority or the MAT tried to stick their oar in. I’d just make sure the gift was given outside of 8:45-15:00 Monday-Friday during term times.

I'm noticing a new trend of buying something 'for the classroom', which I think is a nice compromise. I usually buy a board game or books for my son's teacher, and this week I had a parent who was pulling their child out for the rest of the year to go on holidays hand me a box set of some novels that the kids in my class are really getting into and we never seem to have enough copies of.

I’ve noticed on our school PTA FB that the KS1 class reps have started doing collections for teacher/TA presents, and then buying big extravagant things (or vouchers). I’m glad that the KS2 reps do no such thing and leave us to decide for ourselves.

People do buy the Beavers/cubs leaders presents, IME. Practically no one ever gets anything for the the young leaders though, even though they help out every week.

Competitive present giving? How do people know what presents are being given? They must spend way to long in the playground.

I give my kids teachers a bottle of prosecco each because they are amazing, and work so hard. I also give then a card telling then that.

We give a class present which I’m perfectly happy with, usually £10 per person split between the teacher and TA and buy them John Lewis vouchers and a bunch of flowers. When DD left year 6 I also bought her teachers, TA, her fave teachers and the wonderful school secretary individual gifts of prosecco and white company candles. They were a big part of her life and supported her over the years and I put the money away over a period of time as well a writing personal cards because I wanted to say a truly heartfelt thank you to them. They seemed quite happy but maybe they weren’t but hopefully they took it in the spirit with which it was meant

I live in the same council area. There's been no letter from school and DD would be really upset not to choose something for her teacher, who she adores.

£12 is the limit for recording something on the gifts and hospitality register apparently.

Teachers have to put up with out 'little darlings' - they deserved that wine or box of chocs