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 know very very few teachers that don't go above and beyond their job description

So many people go above and beyond in their jobs but don't get any gifts. I think it is a very strange tradition.

I verbally thank teachers. One of my children's teachers has been nothing but amazing. He has helped to give my daughter a fantastic opportunity so I will send him a card this year. I have of course thanked him face to face as well.

Well...in my ds school a particular family organise this huge affair asking for every parent in their child's class to donate £10. So that's £330 of vouchers to be shared between teacher and TA! At Christmas and then at end of academic year. I think it's wrong and don't participate. I am a teacher and think this is unethical. Needless to say I won't join in. Prefer my d's chooses a simple gift or even better makes one. The school should really be discouraging this amount being given and I Bet the LA would take a rather dim view. But the school is bloody lawless not just in this but other matters too

I genuinely don't think whole class collections are an issue here. I haven't heard of anyone doing it and I have friends with children at the majority of primary schools in the local area and a good few teacher friends.

We did a class collection this year with one of my dcs’ class. It was completely voluntary and most people put in £2.50 (equivalent). Bought the teacher and TA a voucher.

As I posted upthread, cazzy happens at our school and several round here.

I know some teachers go above and beyond. I hugely appreciate my kid's teachers. It is still a professional relationship, not a friendship. Presents are inappropriate and end up in the school fair tombola.

A ban is silly in my opinion

If I want to say thank you to someone then I expect my thank you gift to go to the particular person that I'm saying thank you to. (E.g. small thank you gift fir person selling a house / nurse / midwife sort of thing)

As a teacher, most of us don't get massive gifts but it's nice at the end of the year when some exam students bring in a card and flowers. It's small and meaningful.

When I left my last school I got some lovely gifts. Some were hand made my students, also got some jewelry (class collection so from 30 students). It's a bit silly to say 'really sorry you're going to miss someone who has worked with you for years but you are banned from doing anything'.

I've known 6th form classes do collections to buy their teacher a baby gift before they go on maternity leave too. Some of these students have known thr teacher 6 years and want to do something.

It makes more sense to have a declaration of any gifts where the value is more than £10 per person (which in ny experience is rare)

Should add, I'm secondary so these are students who decide themselves what they want to do.
No parental involvement, pushy class collections or anything.

Back in the 80s and 90s my mum was a teacher and she wasnt allowed to have gifts so all this gift giving is new. Yanbu although box of choc should be ok

I agree that people should give to volunteer leaders and coaches of your child's activities before paid teachers

I would imagine big class collection gift could lead to being viewed as a taxable benefit in kind

I always gave"goat" type gifts to teachers- Oxfam does a "school bag" thing so usually that. And I always sent baking for the staff room on the first day of every term. Seemed to go down well-who needs another "world's best teacher" mug.

londonrach
We did presents in thr late 90s/early 2000s.
Nothing massive but we'd do cards at christmas/end of thr year right through school.
At secondary, we did class gifts at 6th form for some of our teachers (flowers and wine) & I gave a couplenof tokens to some gcse teachers who were amazing.

I've still kept some of my favourite gifts. The bit of jewellery i wear most days to work and it really.makes me smile because of who the class were. And i also have a scrapbook that students made for me full of notes, drawings etc (from a group in quite a deprived area and they asked me for paper/card a few weeks earlier so they must have made it with school resources because they wanted to do somethibg nice).

I don't like the culture of extravagant gift giving for Christmas etc. Token gifts especially when tje teacher has taken you through gcse/a level or is leaving seems fine to.me.

Oh, and in 15 years of volunteering doing kids things I think dp and I have had about 10 presents! The Mumsnet line is usually "well you volunteer to boost your own self esteem/benefit your own child" so presumably parents think we don't need a Christmas card as well!

We're in Scotland and there was mention of this in the most recent school newsletter. I'm never organised enough for a gift anyway but my kids always do a Christmas card. The letter was well worded, something like "we know Christmas is an expensive and stressful time of year so please don't buy your child's teacher a present. They would be delighted with a handmade card and a smile"

The Mumsnet line is usually "well you volunteer to boost your own self esteem/ benefit your own child"
What a horrible line for them to trot out.

Maybe it's just me but I love getting little gifts for people. Nothing massive but I think people appreciate it.

The cleaners are paid to clean our classroom but I get them a christmas gifts. I always drop a box of chocolates in for our admin staff.

As kids I was brought up yo take a small box of chocolates/handmade gift and a card to teachers who ran clubs, gymnastics coaches, danve teachers, brownie leaders etc

Maybe some on MN just like being grumpy

Londonrach, I was a teacher in the 80sand 90s , and we did get gifts from some children. It was optional and usually under a tenner. Sometimes it was something the child had made, I have several bookmarks that I still use. Mug, scented candle, book. Stocking filler stuff.

Maybe they like being grumpy, or maybe it all adds up for people.

Last year I got DS's nursery key worker a small gift - a small box of nice chocolate and a box of Tea Pigs, with a card that he had made. This year, he's in P1 and the job-share class. I can't stretch to £20 for two gifts so they're each getting a card that he's made. We aren't unappreciative of them, but with some family and close friends having had babies this year who we need to buy gifts for because they've always bought for our DC before their own came along, we're needing to prioritise our spending where we can.

I do feel a bit grumbly about it being banned though. It seems a bit arsey to be classing presents from kids as a taxable benefit in kind

How miserable! Nice to get the teacher a gift to appreciate the hard work. I sometimes give my child's teacher a bottle of booze at other times of year too! I get gifts from my adult students too and appreciate them. Though sometimes the gifts have been a bit random (a dress!). Nothing goes to waste and all the chocs get eaten.

DM was a teacher and apart from huge numbers of Christmas cards, the only gifts she got were from her leaving P7 class and the gifts she got when she retired. I never gave gifts to DCs' teachers. Cards - yes. Cards are acceptable. Anything else is ridiculous.

Giving is part of life that nobody should veto.

Where I work (office) you can accept a gift with a small value, small box chocs, calendar etc (under £5) so hopefully this would be okay? I don't think anything more than that should be given really...

This is nuts! I cannot believe some people are so mean they are bothered and jealous that a teacher might receive £100 non taxable.

Are these people completely insane? Teachers have always received some gifts, even in my grand-parents era, even in poor countryside schools. People appreciate the effort and hard work taking care of their children, how do you dare begrudging this? I also give a small gift to nurses and surgeons after hospital stays too.

Do you know how much the teacher has spent, from his own money, to purchase supplies and little things needed in his class? I bloody hope it's tax deductible then. If parents are silly enough to feel they are in a competition with the Joneses about gifts, it's their problems. Others are adults enough to keep it the way it was always intended to.

Collections are organised at my kids schools, not to push anyone, just to ensure the teacher doesn't end up with 30 mugs but can chose a little something with the vouchers we give. It's not designed to look down at parents, it's designed to be kind. You are free to not give, or buy your own gift if you wish.

This was never a thing when I was in school

It certainly was when I was at school many years ago and when my DM and DF were teachers!

I work in an inner town (nearly a city) school with massively high levels of pupil premium. I expect no gifts at all but any I do receive are very much appreciated but not necessary. My children make me endless cards and pictures and every one is displayed with pride on my notice board. I keep one/two from each child at the end of the year. Boxes of chocolates are either put in the staff room for all to share or taken home to share with my family.

An apple for the teacher has been a thing forever.