should I write a letter to head about teacher?

[meatloaf]

DD's YR teacher has been amazing. we could not have got a better teacher. she's enthusiastic, consistent, fair, firm, nurturing, great at communicating to both us and DD. she is amazing and has helped dd learn and settle into school life.

I am thinking of writing to head to say how wonderful the (nqt) teacher is. is this generally done or will they think I am mental? or should i write to the head of the infants?

[steppemum]

please write, but make sure the teacher herself sees it!

I write a personal thank you note to teachers at the end of the year, being specific about what has been good. they are always seriously appreciated

[curlew]

Do it. But always make sure the Head gets a copy if you're writing to the teacher directly. And to the Chair of Governors. It's easy for people to hide their lights under bushels- make sure they can't!

[daisymaybe]

Absolutely. Teachers sometimes have a hard time with senior management and its always good for parent appreciation to be heard as high up as possible. Also she can photocopy it for her gran. I do.

[meatloaf]

Thanks for all the messages. I am def going to do it. A letter to the head and send her a copy too.

[Shootingstar79]

Definitely write to the head-not just the teacher. It WILL be appreciated and treasured I'm sure.

[ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged]

Please do x

[PenguinBear]

Would be lovely :)

[GW297]

Absolutely!

[Periwinkle007]

I have done so for my daughter's teacher and TAs and have also managed to mention the crossing lady, the gate ladies and those who help with reading! well you might as well make sure everyone gets the praise they deserve if you are going to do it.

[goingmadinthecountry]

I've done it on a couple of occasions. Please do - I can assure you it will mean far more than any present on earth.

[Catmint]

Director not dire toe!

[Catmint]

Another one saying do it. I wrote to the managing dire toe of dd's nursery when she left to praise the care that she had had. I was specific about particular things that had been done that had a positive impact.

The staff were sent a copy by the md and were all in floods of tears that someone had recognised their going the extra mile, consistency, flexibility etc.

It made me very happy.

[OrlaNuttin]

Also, it's not only NQTs who should be recognised if they are doing an excellent job. More senior teachers can often get forgotten about, as the less experienced staff are (hopefully!) being supported and nutured.

[OrlaNuttin]

Please do it - how lovely of you to think of it.

To anyone thinking of doing these - please, please do it. I can't tell you how much it will mean to the teacher individually and (if you copy both the teacher and the head in on it), it may help support the teacher's performance management targets, which of course - thanks to Gove - may influence pay.

[GobHoblin]

Do it! I wrote to my daughters reception teacher last year to thank her for going over and above. She was very touched. I have also emailed the head, praising pupils representing their school at an event, which was well received & read out in assembly apparently. Great for morale.

[NoComet]

Do it, being an NQT is very stressful. If you Email copy it to the teacher and the head of governors too.

[Biscuitsneeded]

Do it! Teachers are always falling foul of parents, children, senior leadership, Ofsted etc. Just one letter of appreciation can make all the difference to morale!

[Picturepuncture]

Please write the letter! Also, it doesn't matter how experienced the teacher is, a letter to your boss saying how amazing you are is ALWAYS appreciated.

Particularly at the moment with all the moves towards performance related pay...

[noblegiraffe]

If you could email the head and copy in the teacher, that would be nice, so that she can keep a copy for her file.

[oohaveabanana]

I've done this before - ds had an amazing NQT, and I wrote to her and the head saying how impressed I'd been - I know she really appreciated it.
I also wrote a letter saying how impressed I was with children's behaviour at a specific event, which I know got read out in assembly.

Agree with others that given how often teachers get parental complaints, a few thank yous must make a nice change!

[educatingarti]

Yes- write - definitely! Mention specifics. Specific thank yous and praise can be few and far between for any teacher.

[GhoulWithADragonTattoo]

If she was a teacher of many years standing I probably wouldn't do it as it may seem patronising but for an NQT I think it's a good idea. Let the head know just how pleased you are with her as she'll still be an unknown quantity to the senior staff.

[youcouldnevermakeitup]

If you google 'awards for teachers', then I think you will see Pearson, amongst several companies, make awards. Obviously it will need to be more specific, but maybe many of the other parents feel the same and you could put something together. We've just 'escaped' from a school where the teacher 'ignored' my child but I have been delighted with his teacher (a NQT) this year and I will be writing a letter of appreciation.

[CitrusyOne]

I was totally expecting to open this thread to find a moan and a whinge about a teacher, which is the case so often.

Please, if you feel strongly definitely DO write. It won't outweigh ALL of the moaning us teachers deal with but it will remind us why we do the job!

[kerala]

My mother wrote to the head of dds school recently to say how impressed she was by the behaviour of all the children at a school event and this was down to the hard work of all staff etc ( she is retired teacher) head thrilled and read email out in full school assembly