To not get teachers presents?

[Lemonnhoney]

My son is leaving his nursery/pre school and I just wondered is it fine not to get the teachers anything?

I’m more thinking going forward too into school…

I appreciated them all lot but he was only there September-July and I just think I’d rather get no present than a bad one…. And I think other parents will be getting them things anyway?

I had an aunty who was a teacher and recall her showing me all the terrible tat she got..

Or am i BU and get them a box of chocolates or something?

Just send a card saying how much you've appreciated them. Teachers aren't usually materialistic (or they picked the wrong profession if they are!) and don't expect presents, although the occasional surprise can be lovely. A card from the child is always lovely, but if your DC is too little to write, a picture from him and a note from you will be just as special.

They've been off half the year. YANBU

Dd writes a card. I've always told mine to write something they have enjoyed about having been in that class. Ds's year five teacher came to show me what ds had written, struggling to keep a straight face. "the lessons were good, the games were great, your ties and your jokes are awful" After that I read what they were writing in the cards.

@roarfeckingroarr

I can assure you that this year has been my hardest year ever, professionally. Teachers have worked their arses off. We taught live, remote lessons while everybody was at home, and (even harder) hybrid lessons when half the class was in school and half isolating. We carried our resources and IT around with us, moving classrooms every hour. We dealt with children and families in crisis. We found ways to teach from a 2m square at the front of the room, which goes against every pedagogical instinct we have. We planned, wrote, marked and moderated GCSEs and A levels because the exam boards didn't. We loved and reassured anxious students worried about their futures. We gave up almost all of our breaks and lunchtimes to supervise children's social distancing. Sometimes we didn't get any food or even a hot drink all day. We stood unvaccinated in corridors and classrooms full of teenagers while Covid rates rocketed. Some of us died. This may not have been the case for nursery teachers - I don't know - but comments like yours are stupid, ill-informed and inflammatory.

I think nursery workers and teachers in this case are completely different. Nursery work for a low wage, drop offs start early and go way past the end of the school day. They literally wipe your kids bum, cuddle them if they get hurt, reassure them and care for them.

I give cash but generally at Christmas rather than the end of the school year because the nursery is open through the summer.

Not saying teachers don't deserve anything but i'm sure they dont want 30 "best teacher" mugs.

It's entirely your choice and, as pp have said, teachers certainly do not expect it.

However, I must say, as a teacher, that I am always incredibly grateful and appreciative of anything I receive. I would certainly never regard any gifts as 'tat.' I eat the food, drink the drink, light the candles, use the hand creams and just generally appreciate the thought, and money, that has gone into them.

I would say that I spend an average of £30 per month on the children in my class - stationery and resources that the school won't buy, display items, treats for the treat box or little prizes, treats for class parties, books to help me support certain children's difficulties and needs, even my Disney subscription was only so that I could show suitable movies to my class in wet playtimes, I pay to download songs that the children want me to play in class and top up the wet play toy box when I see bargains.

I think most teachers do this - we want to.

If every person in my class chipped in £1, a tiny fraction of what I spend on their children, I'd have a lovely £30 book voucher or coffee voucher or something. That would be my ideal anyway. Minimal cost to parents, would make me feel as if my efforts were appreciated.

I’m a TA in KS1. I don’t expect or want presents but I would appreciate a thank you!! It’s been a hard year and, as we haven’t had parents coming into the school grounds I feel like I don’t really know them, and they don’t know me. So they don’t really know what we do during the school day, from plasters on scraped knees, cleaning up poo and wee accidents to drying tears when something goes wrong. I’m paid minimum wage and I bought toys for the class from my own money, I’ve got each of the kids a small leaving gift. I care about my kids and have been known to be up at 4am worrying about one or two of them!!

I would love to get a thank you note, it would make my day and make me feel like I had done some good.

Many of our children are from households where money is tight - it feels wrong for parents to be gift giving when they can’t afford it. I would rather they saved the money and spent it on their kids!

I don’t normally but this year DS is leaving his infants school to move up to junior school. He’s really enjoyed his time there, so I asked the HT for some ideas the whole school can use.

We’re also giving them a box of chocolates to share.

I agree with a op that its nice to be nice and agree that the card and words is the most important part. My young dc is excited to thank his teachers, give them cards and their little gifts (that didn’t cost the earth but are well though out and show appreciation) I recognise the work they all put in and especially this year, they are fantastic and we wanted to tell them that!

a pp*

I don't know any teacher who is in the job for the gifts, but some of the comments on here make me a bit sad.

I don't know many teachers who don't spend their own money on making their children's experiences a little bit nicer, and put in effort and time that is over and above expectations.

This year, most teachers have also been opening schools earlier, having much shorter breaks and lunches, administering lateral flow tests, planning twice in case their bubble bursts and needs to switch to home-learning, keeping anxious little people on an even keel and doing all sorts of other things.

The 'they're just doing their job' isn't true actually. If we were just doing our jobs, your children's school experience would be very different. You don't need to buy a gift but a 'thank you' would be very welcome.

A related question- is a nice wine ok as a present for teachers or not?

I think you have to experience a bad teacher to realise what a difference a teacher can make to your child’s school experience.

I don’t think you should buy cards and gifts if your child has had a poor teacher but if the teacher has been good, made a positive difference to your child’s life, it is nice to acknowledge it.

Obviously don’t buy them thoughtless ‘best teacher’ tat but a nice card, wine or a gift voucher will be appreciated.

As a teacher, the BEST gift you can ever give is a card or email outlining your appreciation for the teacher in question. Or better yet, the same but copied to the headteacher, as teachers in most schools get very little praise in the workplace.

@Carboholic

A related question- is a nice wine ok as a present for teachers or not?

I would love you very much, if you were one of my parents.

@Chocolatebuttercream

As a teacher, the BEST gift you can ever give is a card or email outlining your appreciation for the teacher in question. Or better yet, the same but copied to the headteacher, as teachers in most schools get very little praise in the workplace.

An email via the Head is ace. Much kudos in the staffroom!

I bought my pupils a little gift at Christmas and at Easter, and have got them something for the end of term.

I sent postcards home during lockdown - bought them, bought the stickers, bought the stamps.

Maybe parents think each item only cost a pound or two, but it adds up across 30 children, across the year.

Also hot chocolate when it snowed, prawn crackers for Chinese New Year. I've no idea if parents ever get to hear about this stuff, or whether you all think the school buys these things. Please just say thank you, or teachers gradually lose their mojo and stop doing the lovely things.

@Dancingonmoonlight

I think you have to experience a bad teacher to realise what a difference a teacher can make to your child’s school experience.

I don’t think you should buy cards and gifts if your child has had a poor teacher but if the teacher has been good, made a positive difference to your child’s life, it is nice to acknowledge it.

Obviously don’t buy them thoughtless ‘best teacher’ tat but a nice card, wine or a gift voucher will be appreciated.

Yep. I'm normally incredibly pro-teacher but after a nightmare one this year, who didn't soothe little people's anxiety about the situation but put the fear of god into them that they were going to spread Covid to everyone... I'm still angry. I've sorted out some cards for the kids to take in and give to them, but there's no thank you from me, or gift from me because it's going to take us a good while to un-do the damage caused this year by a bad experience.

I always get something for the nursery staff, who are not paid enough for the work they do! Will probably do similar for teachers and TAs when DS starts school.

I have his year, I feel with covid and isolations and how well the support has been that I wanted to show my appreciation. I have got the teacher a wooden bookmark with her name etched on, a wh smith voucher and a box of chocs, spent around £20. Previous years it has been some chocs or sometimes just a card. It depends how well I plan a head and how finances are tbh

@fourminutestosavetheworld Maybe I am!! If you receive a bottle of red, an email, and a card from
a child with nothing in except “Thank you” (DS’s handwriting is currently such that nothing more can fit in a standard size card), then it might have been from us!!

This year my lovely 6 L6th form class night me a second hand copy of the book we’d studied with messages inside from all of them. Probably only cost them 50p each but made me very happy. Also got a. £20 book token and a £15 John Lewis voucher from parents who felt I had gone above and beyond. I wouldn’t expect anything but in secondary that obligation doesn’t exist like it does in primary. Agree with all the posters who suggest cards or even a nice email.

Teacher presents do keep the staffroom well stocked with #1/top/best/favourite teacher mugs though... 😂

Another teacher here, as others have said there is certainly no expectation!

I treasure every card/note/drawing.

However I also treasure any gifts. I eat any chocs, drink any wine but I’m also very sentimental and I keep every mug I get! They remind me of the kids who gave them to me so I definitely don’t consider anything I get tat

I’m a retired teacher and I really didn’t like getting presents. A simple thank you was more than enough. I’m not sure when this present thing started getting out of hand, but it has, and it’s ridiculous.