How important are presents to teachers?

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My mum was a teacher and never allowed us to take in presents for teachers. I don't know if that was because she was hard-up, thrifty or just thought it was a bad idea.

I do remember that I always felt left out not have anything to take and I also remember that mum was given a lot of stuff that wasn't really used eg ornaments you wouldn't give house room to or smellies.

So, I have got token presents for my DCs teachers and TAs, eight in total, so my DCs don't fell left out. I've spent £1 each on some hand-cream from M&S, because I figure everyone can use hand-cream, even if it's not their favourite brand. £1 seems tight, but £5 each for eight people is a lot of money to me.

But, should I have done better/nothing at all/something different?

It's thoughtful and much more meaningful than the poor mum pressurised into contributing a large amount of cash to a class gift. I would be delighted although just a thank you goes a long long way

I generally make some biscuits, and dd makes a card.

Handmade pressies are lovely but I didn't mind if some didn't give me any. I had loads of handmade Christmas tree decs over the years and still have quite a few. Cheap and something I can use year after year .

We've (OK, the kids planted them and I've nurtured!) grown the teacher and the ta an indoor hyacinth each and dd and ds have decorated the pots with stickers and tinsel! They are going to make cards at some point.

I've seen lots of teachers complain on TES about handmade gifts, I've read about them throwing homemade cakes and biscuits in the bin for fear of germs. I put a lot of time and effort into my food - the thought of someone binning it becuase they were unsure of my attention to hygiene, well it would really annoy and upset me...so I just get them a bottle of wine - at least that won't be wasted - someone if not the teacher ll drink it.

What is TES?

Times Educational- it's a teachers' forum

Disparity, that's a shame - not how I feel .

Nover underestimate the power of the written word.

It takes time and a great deal of thought to come up with a sentence. Put the sentence inside a little home made note and it means the world

Oh yes, hand decorated pots/mugs - have a couple of those.

My ds in yr 1 and at his school it seems to be a cash contribution towards a class gift of vouchers with some booze. The money is split equally between the teacher(s) and TA's. The parents give willingly (so mrz no pressure at our school) - no one except the class rep knows how much from each family - and people feel pleased that the staff can buy something that they would like or find useful. My ds is being supported by SENCO this year and that is quite difficult to know what to do.

This is my first year as a SENCo (no class responsiblity) - will I get anything?

I completely don't expect presents, I am a secondary teacher. I do like to receive cards, and I have kept all the ones I have got with nice messages inside.

Disparity - I wouldn't take the opinion of people on the TES forum to be necessarily representative of all teachers.

I'm a TA and I get gifts from some children and not from others. I don't regard the children any differently and I certainly don't expect anything.

Said this before on other threads, but I cannot stand the competitive gift giving at my DD's (private) school, so I do Oxfam unwrapped - this year I have done two Give Girls A Head Start, which amounts to £34 and they send me a card which I send into school.

coatgate, that's a lovely idea. I'd be very happy if parents spent the money on a goat instead.

Knitting - now is when you find out if you've done a really good job or not. I'm getting my SENCO choccies because she has made a huge difference to both my kid's (and mine) lives.

But no way did I get my last 2 (useless) SENCOs a present....

If your SenCo is good pls get them something, they work extremely hard, no I'm not one, just a standard teacher. I love and appreciate the cards and gifts but never expect them.

We've done home-made cakes or wine at Christmas, depending on finances at the time, but I do insist on giving the same to the TAs and LSAs in the class. All the children benefit from the extra help in the classroom, and I feel that DS should respect all the adults equally.

Whenever I get a gift, no matter how small, it makes me feel appreciated... I'll definitely be getting my dds' teachers gifts this Christmas.

Lol indigo, you realise I'm going to feel really shit if no one buys me anything don't you?!!!

I'm going to tell myself I've only been there since September so I haven't had time to make much of a difference .

I love my kids though - they are, by and large, a great bunch .

I remember my teachers (I was in sixth form, so quite informal) complaining about the amount of candles they were given.

We always gave padded coathangers, because everyone needs nice coathangers :)

Although if we had a form teacher more than once or my sister had the same one we struggled a bit more

i never send anything in - find it cringey in the extreme that parents even do this at all

it seems patrionising. but then again, the middle classes would send a thank you note to their plumbers for fixing a tap probably

"the middle classes would send a thank you note to their plumbers for fixing a tap probably"

What an odd thing to say?!

Nothing wrong with saying thank you to a teacher who you think is good - doesn't have o involve a present, just a simple card is nice.