What are you buying nursery/school teachers

[neverornow]

What's everyone getting teachers/nursery staff??

I usually do a small hamper for nursery as they all work with my LO. I go to the supermarket and buy nice biscuits, tea, coffee, chocolate, squash etc for the staffroom for them to share. They were all happy with the nice hand cream and soap I put in it last time so they must have nasty hand wash in their toilets

@foxgoosefinch

That is really interesting! I’d never considered it in this way. The staff at our school do receive generous gifts (it’s an affluent area) but it’s generally from the whole class rather than individuals. Obviously I can see it’s problematic if one parent alone gifts a large sum to one member of staff.

What’s the potential issue with receiving a gift with a relatively large monetary value from the class?

I usually buy a mini bottle of Prosecco each, there are 8 workers but they are all brilliant and as it's a small nursery each of them interact with my child/do handovers, not just the keyworker.

We do the same as @PearandHoney
School has never raised an issue with the monetary value etc.

Box of M&S biscuits

[quote PearandHoney]@foxgoosefinch

That is really interesting! I’d never considered it in this way. The staff at our school do receive generous gifts (it’s an affluent area) but it’s generally from the whole class rather than individuals. Obviously I can see it’s problematic if one parent alone gifts a large sum to one member of staff.

What’s the potential issue with receiving a gift with a relatively large monetary value from the class?[/quote]
Same as with any other charity or public sector employee - it’s seen as compromising/conflict of interest, and potentially affects tax as well!

I’m in a similar job and expected not to accept anything more then token gifts. (Lawyers and doctors too have strict guidelines on this.) £20 or £10 on a bottle of wine or whisky - ok. More than £20 and you’re supposed not to accept. That covers a whole class gift too as well as individual gifts.

If I have time and can find it I’ll dig out the email from school to see what they put!

DD’s school is part of an academy trust for example and I found this on an education policy website:

“Teachers receiving gifts in academies

The Academies Financial Handbook states that academy trusts should have a policy and register on the acceptance of gifts, hospitality, awards, prizes or any other benefit which might be seen to compromise the personal judgement or integrity of members, trustees, staff and/or any other representative of the trust.

Generally it would be impractical to log all small gifts received over Christmas time or the end of the year. For extravagant gifts over a set amount, gifts from third-parties or commercial suppliers you will need to log it in your gift register (depending on the details included in your academies policy).

Examples of gift policies

Primary School

Buckton Vale Primary School in Cheshire has a gifts and hospitality policy. It explains that teachers can accept gifts and hospitality, which have a value of £30 or less, without the approval of the headteacher.

On the topic of what gifts should never be accepted it says:

Cash or monetary gifts
Gifts or hospitality offered to your husband, wife, partner, family member or friend
Gifts or hospitality from a potential supplier or tenderer in the immediate period before tenders are invited or during the tender process
Lavish or extravagant gifts or hospitality, even if they relate to activities in your own time”.

In nursery, I made a hamper of small chocolate & biscuit packs. Lots of small boxes so it could be shared between staff, plus a bottle of wine for the keyworker.
In older classes, I've generally given a bottle of wine to the teacher (asking first if they drink) & a small box of chocolates or similar for the TA. I'm not sure if DS's current teacher drinks & little opportunity to ask so it will likely be a box of chocolates. Tbh I tend to go with consumable or regiftable. I'm sure teachers get lots of wine but it isn't likely to go off before it gets used & chocolates are easy to regift/share if they don't like them.

@Ryannah

Am I supposed to buy for nursery teachers? There are five of them, I can’t afford five presents!

You are not "supposed" to buy for anyone, not everyone does. If you cant afford it a card is more than sufficient. Your teachers would not want anyone who couldn't afford it to feel obliged to buy them a gift.

You should try a special school class! DS's classroom this year has, I believe, 6 TAs and two teachers (job share) but in fact a new one is covering for one on sick leave so that's three... and the nature of a special school can be that you don't really see the teachers very often (live a distance away, DS goes on a transport there and back) and with Covid, in-school contact has been very scanty. So three months into his new class, I don't know his classroom team at all. I have no idea who works with him most (he's non verbal) or if the list of TAs given with his home-school journal is even accurate (it hasn't always been, in the past).

When he started there years ago, I drove myself mad, making a little gift for each adult in his classroom (and still missed a couple). Luckily I realised it's madness! Last year his teacher, who is very special and with whom he bonded very well, got a special handmade gift and I usually get him to sign cards for everyone and sometimes put in earrings I make - but I have no idea if these are wanted. This year I think if we're able to do nice cards - I may try to coerce him into some festive potato stamping - that will have to do, as we're talking 9 people, one of whom I have met for five minutes...

Was going to say, the years I've realised it's mad to do individual gifts, I have sent in big boxes of biscuits, but would imagine I'm not the only one to do that... and I try to get something for the classroom like whiteboard pens. I honestly don't know what they might need though.

I normally go booze but DD7's teacher is giraffe mad, so a WWF charity giraffe keyring and a couple of tins of chocolates for the staffroom.

DS is now in his last year of primary and since his first year we have contributed a fiver, along with the other parents in the class, towards a gift card for the local shopping outlet

I’ve done gift cards or alcohol (for those that we know like it) the last few years but tbh this year I’m trying to keep costs down so think it may just have to be a nicely written card

@PearandHoney

We always do a collection for the teachers and get them John Lewis vouchers. Then they can get what they want or even spend it on food shopping in Waitrose if they prefer. Normally each teacher gets about £250 which IMO is better than 30 boxes of chocolates / candles / flowers etc!!

I think a homemade card from children is nice too for teaching staff, but personally I wouldn’t want to receive homemade decorations or other items. Keep that for family.

We do this too. £5 collection at Christmas, £10 at summer. Bunch of flowers, card from the kids, Jo malone hand wash or similar and the rest in selfridges vouchers. No expectation of contribution.

As pear said, group collection gifts from a class would never fall foul of any gift rule.
Teachers and assistants are amazing and work so hard for our children- I believe in being generous. Obviously generous for some people is £5 and for some is £50.

@livingthegoodlife

Nothing. Just a card. Way too many teachers in my children's lives to buy presents. I may get something for the volunteers who lead groups such as Cubs etc.

Volunteers will appreciate any gifts a lot. It is often a thankless task. I appreciate teaching is too, but at least you get paid. I have been both a volunteer and a teacher.

@MarineBlue33

As pear said, group collection gifts from a class would never fall foul of any gift rule. Teachers and assistants are amazing and work so hard for our children- I believe in being generous. Obviously generous for some people is £5 and for some is £50.

At my previous but one school, there was a gift policy that did we couldn't accept gifts over a certain value (I think £150? But don't quote me), so a collection worth more than that would fall foul of this policy.

I used to get bars of galaxy or similar chocolate where the outer sleeve could be removed. I would then cut out paper the same size as the sleeve which my kids would then decorate using felt pens or crayons, glitter or stickers….being as creative as they wanted and often adding the teachers/TAs name.
I simply then popped the homemade sleeve back onto the chocolate sealing with a bit of sticky tape and voila personalised chocolate bars, hand decorated for £1 each :-)
My kids thoroughly enjoyed making the sleeves and it was always well received by the teachers/TAs.

Mine begged to be let loose in Home Bargains, so they’re getting a candle and a bag of chocolate Santa’s each.

I just paid 🤷🏻‍♀️

Tesco had the Thornton's Christmas selection in Clubcard prices £10 down to £5 so I got those for teacher and TA

@OhMyCrump

Nothing. I already have enough to think about!

This ^. My grandson has 2 teachers and a TA. All being paid tp do their job.