Do children address their teachers in first names?

[heun817]

Hi, I have just moved to the UK a couple months ago and my boy has started reception.
I taught him his teacher's name in 'Mrs. Last name' and starting from a couple days ago my son told me that he does not call his teacher Mrs. Last name and instead call her in her first name.

Do children usually call teachers in first names? I don't think my boy is being rude and other kids also call the teacher in her first name but a bit confused.

Do people in general call other people in first names as well? I have noticed when I was in contact with my real estate agent and even in job applying processes, people always use my first name to address me even though we have never met.
I would very much appreciate a reply.

It’s unusual but some schools do. He’s probably telling the truth! In terms of estate agent, job ads etc people do tend to go with first name nowadays although a few decades ago it wouldn’t have been as common.

I think in early years, it's mostly first names.
Years 1 and 2, could be anything.
Years 3 and above, it's mostly Mrs.

Outside of formal occasions though (where I'd include School, Military, weddings etc.), first names are the norm for everyone, as you saw your estate agent didn't even consider you might prefer something else. People in their 30s/40s talking to pensioners is the only place where it's common to consider they might prefer Mrs.

I’ve never heard school children using first names, no. But estate agents etc, that is quite usual.

Never heard of a school (reception upwards not nursery) where kids call their teachers by their first names. That’s pretty unusual.

Everywhere else - estate agents etc - yes you’d use first names. Would be odd to call the estate agent Ms Smith or whatever

It's unusual but not unheard of. My friend teaches in a school where staff are addressed by their first name and I've come across a couple of others.

It's not usual in school, even the school nursery class. I knew one teacher in my school who would have preferred to use her first name but she had to be Ms Lastname in that school.

My DC's Primary school did this all through - but it is an exception, but not totally unheard of. I do know of other schools that do this both private and state.

Schools on the whole are behind the times, not only on names but also on the dress standards eg insisting on ties when few offices do (my Ex kept one at work as you wore one on the Exec floor but nowhere else), or the high heels etc. of the local girls private school teachers. And yes in general people use first names.

Before and after school clubs often use first names, as do some nursery classes. My DCs secondary used to use first names (it hasn't quite died out yet) but they stopped in order to safeguard the staff, apparently.

Some schools do. My kids use Mrs Lastname but their cousins, who live in North London, call their teachers by their first name.

Over three schools, never by first name (including preschool class). Including teachers they knew out of school (eg my DD2 preschool was Mrs Bloggs. She was also DD1s BFs mum and a family friend, so DD knew her as Jenny. But knew at school she was Mrs Bloggs).

A school my friend teaches at uses first names in nursery but not in reception. She worked in both so it is a bit confusing but the kids learn eventually.

DS is at college (16-18 year olds) and the teachers use first names there both to the students and their parents which is a tad weird to me.

I remember older children being bemused reading A Christmas Carol, where Mr and Mrs Cratchit address each other as such, as couples might have done in the 19th century.

My son’s primary school uses first names for all teachers, even the headteacher is referred to as Amy, I didn’t know any of their surnames. So it does happen.

Estate agents etc - yes it’s normal now to use first names, it would be quite old fashioned/formal to use surnames.

My daughters school uses first names all the way through primary. I'd never heard of it before and it seemed odd to me, now I quite like it.

When they were in nursery they had Aunties.

Not heard of this in Primary school. We did at 6th form. At Primary it was just Sir and Ms.

Estate agents - totally normal to use first names. We’ve well and truly adopted US informality now.

Schools are one of the very few exceptions; in my experience, all teachers are Mr X or Mrs Y and will also refer to you as a parent that way. My friend’s DD went to a school in North London where the Reception teachers were called by their first names, but only that year group.

We’ve well and truly adopted US informality now

There's lots of the US where they are considerably more formal in this area, depending on the region etc. but I understand it's still very common for Sir / Ma'am to be used for any adult in the southern states, and Mr X / Mrs Y for any adult parent of your friends across more of it.

Around here, at nursery and pre-schools, the adults seem to be known by their first names, but surnames only at school. At the school I work at, we've had a 1-2-1 TA for a couple of years who's been known as Miss Firstname, because she has an unusual/difficult to pronounce surname. Other members of staff with difficult to pronounce surnames have been known as Mrs S and Miss B. The only exception I know of is my friend who works at a special school and all the adults there are known by their first names.

Where I work teachers are Mrs/Mr last name. All other staff are first name, so TAs, office staff, etc.

Definitely Mr/Mrs etc at all three schools I'm involved with. If a child came into the office and called me Rocky I wouldn't be impressed, and we're quite a relaxed school.

At DD's primary they use first names for everyone including the head teacher. I remember two of the other primary schools we looked at did too.

In Special Schools it is common to use first names. In mainstream schools it is rare. I taught in a mainstream primary where teachers could choose, so you got the confusing situation of having say Lucy in one Year 3 class and Ms Perkins in the other. And I also taught in a Special School where first names were used universally except by the head, so in assembly he would refer to Ms Ahmed's class and no one would know who he was talking about.

All use title and last name here, all staff.