Please stop with the teacher and TA gifts!

[pinkksugarmouse]

Just that really. As someone who has worked in schools and knows many people who do presents are such an unnecessary pain. It’s just stuff bought for the sheer heck of buying and needs to stop. Protecting the environment is very high on the list of pupils concerns. Inundating people with unwanted things in their name isn’t respectful.
Please no more mugs, teddies, chocolates, bizarre decorations…how many teachers, TA’s, nursery staff do you think really want it?
You are just gifting them a trip to the charity shop and/or the need for more bin bags.

Actually I really appreciate the gifts I am given (especially chocolate and biscuits). We get so little thanks at other times, it’s nice to be remembered (I’m a TA) x

I was a primary teacher before I had DS and really enjoyed receiving the gifts. I wasn’t teaching long, but I still have the scarves one child bought me and the lovely notes from parents.

DS is in year one now, but last year I emailed the Head at Christmas to tell him specifically why I thought his reception teacher was amazing. No one ever tells teachers when they’re doing a good job and it meant a lot to me when I was teaching, so I thought I’d do the same.

For the end of summer term, I did the same and then gave the staff in his class strawberry plants grown on our allotment. We only got it in April and DS was really proud of it.

Gifts of any kind are definitely not expected. And it makes no difference to how your child is perceived. Not a jot. As I teacher I love all gifts and cards and kind words. Food gifts will usually end up in the staff room as will wine gifts for after school drinks. And I especially love stationery gifts for the classroom. How I'm supposed to make 10 glue sticks last a class of 28 kids a whole year I have no idea. Oh yes, I'm expected to buy them myself, that's right.

YABU. We lived the twice yearly restocking of the chocolate cupboard when DH was a teacher!

Teacher here too and, like others, I think it's lovely to receive gifts from the children. Or cards. Or just a simple thank you. Anything that shows any appreciation for the hard work we do is so lovely.

We all club together and our teachers either get vouchers, a box of locally sourced foods/drinks and something lovely like a relaxing L'occtaine gift set and prosecco. They always go down well. It's a hassle being the one organising it and getting everyone to sign the cards though.

I never bought gifts. I know our local primary school donate many of the food/drink gifts to local charities as they get so much.

Instead I wrote cards to their teachers thanking them and detailing how they made a difference to my child's life.

@Abraxan there are plenty on this very thread.

All my teacher friends and teacher mum love their gift haul! Especially wine though I appreciate not everyone drinks.
Personally I send in 6 bottles of Prosecco to share amongst the staff and im pretty sure they don’t regift but hey if they want to put them in the pta raffle i wouldn’t care!

@TolkiensFallow

All my teacher friends and teacher mum love their gift haul! Especially wine though I appreciate not everyone drinks. Personally I send in 6 bottles of Prosecco to share amongst the staff and im pretty sure they don’t regift but hey if they want to put them in the pta raffle i wouldn’t care!

6 to share?

How the heck does that work? They each decent a little in a plastic bottle??

Genuine question - do all of you who buy for teachers also buy for any volunteers that support your DC? Unpaid sports coaches, Brownie and Cub leaders etc? I was much more inclined to give something to the volunteers who gave up their time to support my DC.

Presents in general are bad for the planet I guess, sure. But you know what, I’m a nursery nurse, we have forty kids in our preschool class from 8-6, not enough paperwork time, crap pay and no school holidays, I love getting wine/biscuits etc. Don’t expect anything of course, but if someone read this thread and cancelled my festive wine I would be gutted

'Genuine question - do all of you who buy for teachers also buy for any volunteers that support your DC? Unpaid sports coaches, Brownie and Cub leaders etc? I was much more inclined to give something to the volunteers who gave up their time to support my DC.'

Well the team is so big isn't it? I just tend to get something small for teacher that dc can run up and proudly give. Then i get a present for rest of the team as there's so many who all have valuable input!

@Ragwort

Genuine question - do all of you who buy for teachers also buy for any volunteers that support your DC? Unpaid sports coaches, Brownie and Cub leaders etc? I was much more inclined to give something to the volunteers who gave up their time to support my DC.

Yes. Pretty much just chocolates for all.

Think buying teachers presents is a bit ridiculous personally and very unfair on those on low income, already stressing about providing for their own children this holiday who might not have a couple pound spare for a token gift, let alone a bloody John Lewis gift voucher. A thank you card signed or drew by the child they teach is more than enough.

Why stop ‘with’, OP?

Just ‘stop’ is perfectly good English - the ‘with’ is redundant.

I have 3 kids at school and I have never nor would ever buy gifts for their teachers for any reason& I don’t understand why anyone would, it’s ridiculous they are not close friends or family.

I work in education and I would much prefer that schools had an explicit ‘no gifts’ rule. I don’t expect a present for a) doing my job and b) because people feel obliged to give one. I’m not particularly happy with my child’s teachers this year as I don’t think that they are supporting them effectively, but I feel pressured into being part in class gift because everybody else is. I can afford it but there are lots who can’t. Schools should be aware of this.

@TolkiensFallow

All my teacher friends and teacher mum love their gift haul! Especially wine though I appreciate not everyone drinks. Personally I send in 6 bottles of Prosecco to share amongst the staff and im pretty sure they don’t regift but hey if they want to put them in the pta raffle i wouldn’t care!

I hope there are 6 or less staff

@Oftenithinkaboutit and @GreyhoundG1rl yes there are 2 Teachers 4 TA’s in her reception class. At her nursery there were 6 adults in her room including her keyworker.

So I send 6 bottles as I’m grateful for the input of all adults who look after her.

I never buy for my children's teachers. I just don't see why I should...they're doing their job that they are paid to do. They get paid more than I do and I work two jobs so it just seems ridiculous...they aren't doing it because they love my children, are they? I do however, ask my kids to write a nice note for them and buy special cards for the TAs and teachers.

We always run class collections at our school. The first year we were there it ended up with the class reps for the two reception classes getting competitive over it, and relentless badgering to up our donations.

I’m a class rep this year (definitely not a ‘queen bee’ type though!!) and am trying to strike a balance between reminding people to chip in and being conscious that some people are on tight budgets. We’re in a fairly affluent area but it doesn’t mean it’s true for everyone.

Bah humbug you ungrateful thing! It’s a kind gesture. I get that teachers don’t want loads of crap but some chocolates or a home made card come from the heart because the child wants to give them to someone they care for. It’s not because I want to trudge round the shops buying for a miserable cow like you teachers just for show

@lorisparkle

I love all the gifts too - I have the magnets on my fridge, treasure the mugs, enjoy all the food and drink. In my first ever class I was given a set of metal bowls - over twenty years later I still use them and think about the little girl whose family bought them for me even though they did not have a huge amount of money.

It is not about the gift it is about the thought and I appreciate everyone.

That is lovely. Mum was a teacher, and in her needlework basket ( In the felt needle case) was a little folded drawing and letter a sweet girl had done for her all those years ago, in the East End of London It