Teacher presents. End of term.

[rackhampearl]

Aibu to ask you teachers what your best and worst present experiences have been from --parents students. Also has anyone got any ideas? I'm thinking of miniature bottles of Hendricks gin and a small can of fever tree in a gift bag for the teachers heavily involved in my DDs school life and some loaf cakes for the staff room. Is that abit naff?

Just stopping for a minute and saying 'thanks - I enjoyed this year' is plenty. If your child will have the same teacher next year and is looking forward to that, tell them to say so

Personalised stickers went down well so you could do those- assuming you spell the name correctly. I have bought various things but this year will be doing staffroom tea/coffee hamper and a couple of spare travel mugs for visitors and notepads for the teachers I think. But I like the post it pack ideas

As a TA I am frankly grateful for anything, but especially handwritten cards. And yes, it’s the teachers rather than the ta’s who get end of year gifts. ( I don’t mind at all, by the time the end of term comes, I am very happy to have a long holiday ahead).

A nice card or a thank you note is enough. I always encourage mine to write one for the site staff aswell (care taker who fixes things they have broken and keeps the school running, the cleaners who have cleaned up the sick when your child was ill or the pee when their aim wasn't good enough etc) and the office staff etc. A little thank you goes along way. And a box of chocs/ biscuits for the staff room always goes down well!

We give a Voucher for a local coffee shop. Wouldn't buy alcohol as you never know people's circumstances where alcohol is concerned. And would never buy mugs, candles, handcreams etc as have a teacher friend who just regifts these items.

I'm doing personalised 'well done', 'brilliant work' stickers for the nursery teachers. They give out stickers to the children, but they're mostly freebie ones you'd get with kids magazines or generic ones you can buy. I thought ones that say 'Mrs Jones says... brilliant work' on them might be quite nice. Plus they won't need to take them home and can use them up on the 2019/2020 intake.

Vouchers for amazon or book tokens? I have bought charms for nomination bracelets, Emma bridgewater mugs and the alphabet cushions from M and s in the past .
I avoid alcohol and chocolate simply because I wouldn’t like it as a present .

Instead of giving presents to teachers this year, why not take all these amazing gifts to the nurses and staff at your local hospital, or fire station or even police station. Because they also work ridiculous hours, get paid naff all and look after your child's safety. But it's funny how no-one wants to run and shower them with gifts every end of term.

I’m a TA and it’s my first year. I was surprised and overwhelmed to get presents at Christmas, but what surprised my more was that I received presents from my colleagues! I was genuinely unprepared for that. Class teacher and two other TAs (we all job share) gave me a gift and the HTLA that does PPA cover.

@Grumblepants. Bit of a daft suggestion. I appreciate all of the services and when my child had heart surgery the staff involved were shown how much we appreciated what they had done for our child. But what are you suggesting that we go round every hospital, fire station, police station handing out gifts to people with haven't even met? These teachers have spent 5 days a week with my child for the majority of the year, teaching them, caring for them and building a foundation of trust. I dont suggest showering them in gifts, but is a token gesture of appreciation really that bad?

@Grumblepants Are you trying to say that teachers are undeserving?

Personalised stickers are a great idea! Primary teaching services do a big range

I did a large fruit platter (melon, mango, strawberries etc) for the staff room in the last couple of weeks of term ( not on the last day when everyone is rushing off of course) It seemed to go down very well.

Staff rooms are always bursting with biscuits and cake, but half the staff always seem to be on a diet so a healthy choice is quite popular.

@crazycatgal no, why are you trying to say nurses and emergency services are undeserving?
I just don't understand all the teacher hero worship.
I know quite a few teachers and almost all have said they do it because it's easy or it fits in with having a family.
I'm in my 40's now and I appreciate teaching has changed since my day, however with all the teachers I had not one picked up on me having a dysfunctional home, getting bullied, not handing in a single piece of homework for over a year. Not one ever asked if I was ok after my mum was hospitalised for a long time. So I am in no way saying all teachers are the same, but at this moment I don't get showering them with gifts when there are other people working in other industries who give as much of service to society with less thanks or recognition,.
Sorry if that has offended.

I love the rose bush idea!

Yes, many teachers do buy gifts for their TAs and Area leads might buy for their teams. I bought booze for the colleagues who helped me through tough times and personalized items for brilliant TAs.

Good Bags are a fabulous bargain at just £5 & v practical. www.thegoodbagsco.com/product-category/work-and-hobbies/ There are versions for teachers, TAs, books, chocolate, wine ....

Best is when the children/parents actually think about the me and what I might like. They generally know if I drink coffee, alcohol, what kind of things I might like etc, books, hobbies, pens, and get something appropriate rather than generic. Much more useful and appreciated.

generally coffee cards are good, wine, vouchers, chocolates, things like that as more generic gifts. Less keen on toiletries, as they tend not to be what I'd use, or even things like teas/hot chocs etc, as again, they aren't what I'd usually use in my coffee machine, so they just go in the cupboard for guests but never get drunk. And no to trinkets, mugs, frames, personalised things with a child's name (apart from cards) or anything that needs displaying really. Supplies for things I use a lot (coloured pens, markers etc) is good.

I appreciate them all, though! It is the thought that matters, and if it's accompanied by a card, even better. But it's also nice to know that someone has thought about you genuinely as a person and chosen something.

Absolute best ever? When a parent not only sent me a lovely card, but also sent a more formal letter to the head explaining the difference i had made to their child's life.

I know quite a few teachers and almost all have said they do it because it's easy or it fits in with having a family

Either they are lying or you just made that up.

I worry about this every July

This year I’ve gone for really lovely hand cream and I’m going to write a lovely card and some posh chocolates and a Costa card for £10. I only have one at primary now so I’m happy to spend £15 on each teacher.

How about a tray of cans of Pellegrino/diet coke etc for the staffroom? Or some fancy teabags from Whittard or other stores?

Without a doubt the best gifts are the personalised, genuine cards from either parent or student. One of my students wrote a whole 20 page+ book for me and told me I’d inspired her to become an author! That is the one I remember most. If you really want a gift a plant or flowers are best as trinkets or ornaments or stationary etc or even food or drink are unlikely to be to their taste (or at least in my experience unfortunately)

I don't teach in schools but used to do tutoring so would work extensively with a particular student. My favourite was definitely a thoughtful message in a card. For some reason I always got given ferrero rocher chocolates which I can't stand (I still appreciated the sentiment and the chocolates got donated to the women's refuge).

I know quite a few teachers and almost all have said they do it because it's easy or it fits in with having a family

lol that is so totally made up. I no lots of teachers (and ex teachers) and none have that attitude and almost all would say they would discourage their children from going into teaching.

My favourite ‘gifts’ from children school were the handwritten cards which I still have from a few years ago now. I don’t drink so always have alcohol away and there’s only so much chocolate you can eat!

Some parents gave gift vouchers for a local takeaway, we all used them on the INSET day at beginning of the the next school year to buy loads of pizza for lunch in the staff room.

Grumble
I’m really sorry you had such a difficult childhood. It explains why your perspective is as it is. Sounds like you feel really let down.

My all time favourite present was from a group of yr 11s when they left - they set up my desk with a cushion, a little beautiful crocheted blanket (both from charity shops) on my chair (my classroom is always freezing!), a china mug with a lid (from a charity shop) and a pretty notebook from paper chase.

They made me leave and then dragged me back to class. It was so thoughtful and I loved their conspiratorial giggles whilst they were organising it.

Made me weep copiously 😂