Xmas present to help my Dd be one of the teachers favourites

[Justlookatthatrain]

😂Joking-sort of

But seriously, what do you buy your child’s teacher at Christmas?
I worked in a school and there were 100% the mums/kids who bought the flashiest presents-good perfume, champagne, huge bouquets and it did have an effect and everyone knew who those mums were
I’m sure teachers will deny this 😅
A good, thoughtful present does make a difference

Aibu?

Tbh the best gifts were hand written letters/cards with a small token gesture, biscuits/chocolate /coffee /tea were great as kept in classroom cupboard or staff room.. Also a books! a book given to the class teacher from a child was a great addition to the bookshelves

£50??? Really?

My son was a difficult child to have in a class of 30 - super-bright, ADHD and no filter. We found out his teacher's favourite biscuits and he made some himself for her (very wonky but heartfelt). I bought a nice tin to put them in. She was so thrilled with the gift, which cost not very much - it completely changed her relationship with him for the last two terms too, as she started to see he was in fact very thoughtful and sensitive, but unable to control his impulses like the others.

Other years, I got the teacher a £10 voucher for a coffee shop with a message along the lines of "enjoy a well-deserved break".

Just £50????? Some don't have that kind of money!!

£50 !! For doing their job. Some parents don't have that kind of money!

Teachers do not expect gifts. Ever. If they get a gift its appreciated but anything ott is awkward.

Heaven help the students whose parents are not in the bribery business. I speak as an ex-teacher and as a parent. As the former, I would never be swayed [the opposite, rather] and as the latter, I never did bribe.

Primary school teacher here echoing the please no mugs or candles! I have a cupboard full of both.
genuinely a thoughtful card is what I’m most likely to treasure and keep. I’d love an email to the head and chair of governors as all they seem to get is complaints.
And to the people saying no to glue sticks - why?! I spend a fortune each year on them as we have no money in our school budget to buy them.
We have a family who send in a hamper of tea, coffee and biscuits which are very much appreciated in the staff room.

As someone who has worked in the same school for 20+ years, I can count on one hand the times that I've received any kind of thank you card/gift from a family. My role is a pastoral/safeguarding one, so I am not classroom based. It is really hard on that last day of term to see teachers and TAs all walking out of school laden with chocs/wine/other things when you have nothing. This is not a 'woe is me' post as I have got used to it now, but just one to remind folks that schools cannot function without admin/pastoral staff working hard behind the scenes. Please don't forget them. Just a card with kind words will go a long way.

A) is the polite version. B) is the direct version. Pick the one you're happy with and don't read the other one.

A) You're a saint. But please don't buy glue for your class. The school should do that.
B) You're an absolute mug! Why in god's name are you buying stuff for your classroom? It's the government's job to fund schools, not yours! It's ridiculous, as it also sets the norm in your school and anyone not doing this is made to do bad- and unlike you, may not be able to afford it. My wife works in an NHS hospital that certainly has issues, but she never ever buys medical equipment to take to work. STOP IT, NOW!

Indeed, if the school doesn't have money in the budget for glue, you all need to be speaking to the union. I'd email the head:

Dear HT,

As you may or may not realise, many of us have been buying classroom materials since 20xx. This is not tenable- please can you revisit the budget to ensure that moving forwards, teachers are not expected to buy classroom materials from their own funds.

Many thanks

YR teacher
YR 1 teacher
all the way through to Y6 teacher

Apologies, in my upset that someone up thread has said they buy gluesticks for their classroom, I replied to the wrong person!

I use to buy meals for the homeless or donate to a charity in their name and print out the page for donations some have nice ones for Xmas to say thanks for your donation and put it in a card

This

TAs do a whole lot of the difficult work, frankly, and are frequently overlooked while the class teacher isn't. They also cover classes and teaching groups regularly these days with very little, if any, extra compensation.

Groups- part of the TA job description.
Very occasionally covering the teacher- emergency, very odd day here or there- well that's goodwill.
But any more than that- TAs should be compensated for covering classes or refusing to do it.
I'm not a militant, but unless people stop being taken for mugs (buying supplies for school/working for free) SLTs will continue to exploit.

They are 'compensated', but it works out to about an extra £1.50 an hour, for covering these days. Miserly.

'Groups' used to mean small targeted groups, not 12-18 regularly at once, literally half a class at a time for a full hour session. That's teaching. And 'compensation' is as above, miserly.

Honestly, biscuits, chocolates, if you know of a particular sweet they like, or something connected to their subject, stationary sets. Don't spend a fortune, don't buy anything too personal. My Mum was a teacher for years and trust me, most things other than edible or usable ended up being regifted or donated. She hated it when parents bought her jewellery or scarves or ornaments.

You need to refuse to do that- half the class on a regular basis isn't what a TA should be doing. But people do need to stand up for themselves as if not, SLT won't.

That's a lovely gesture, but odd as a present. It's like you're killing two birds with one stone. I want to give to charity and buy the teacher a present- oh I know let's give to charity and put it in the teacher's card!

I liked getting the teachers a present. I think they work really hard. I have absolutely no thought that they would favour my child. A pain in the arse child is still a P in the A. And a delightful child is still such whether their instants give gifts or not.

I gave them a decent quality candle, reed diffuser or a panettone. Especially one that came in a pretty tin. I avoided alcohol as many people don’t drink and I think it must be kind of disappointing to end up with several bottles if you get no joy from them. My dc always wrote a card to go with the gift.it absolutely was not to gain favour either. I would always get the same think for the reception staff as they do so much and rarely get anything. And when we left primary I got all the grounds people a £50 gift voucher each. Yeah it was a lot but it was for all the many years we were there. I get a lot of joy from thanking those people that keep the place running that are often forgotten. Christ one of them almost cried. Big burly man too. It made me cry.

The school I was a governor at did not allow teachers to accept personal gifts but said if parents wanted to show their thank you to the school, a book for the library (one from a charity shop was ideal) would be appreciated.

A chocolate Santa is perfectly ample.

I wish all schools would do this

Teacher here: that is far, far too much. ONE of those items would suffice, if you must get anything. However, a teacher does not want a bracelet made by a child in their class, they will never wear it. You may love things made by your own DC, a teacher will not.

Same goes for home-made biscuits, sweets, etc. I would not eat anything home-made due to food hygiene concerns, and it goes straight in the bin, sorry.