Thankyou 'gift' after residential. Yay or nay?

[youarewinning]

I'm asking here because I know I'll get honest POV from people who probably actually experience this!

My DS (10) came home from his 5 day residential on Friday with school. He has AS and therefore needs more support than other children his age both with independence and being able to cope with social situations and new things.

Teacher said he'd been fine but were the 'obvious' situations you'd expect but that they were dealt with and he'd been sensible about the resolutions. DS has told me all incidents (he has a habit in focussing on negatives) and I think the staff deserve a medal!!!

He had his ELSA as his group leader the whole week and his class teacher supporting him at group times and activities too. Thee were also 4 other staff there and other staff visited during day - including the HT.

I was thinking of making some thankyou cupcakes and getting some hot choc sachets and writing a card apologising for my DS being a massive PiTa thanking them for making it possible for him to go. It just seems more personal to do that rather than a tin of chocs?

Would you appreciate this? Would you rather have chocolates? (My cakes aren't awful btw!)

Would your ds write/make a card thanking them for enabling him to go?

My dd2 has AS, and after her residential (was only one night, as she was in yr2) I encouraged her to make a card for her teacher who had helped her through it (both beforehand, answering a million and one questions, and during).

I think personal is the way to go, but especially nice if your ds can be part of it too, as he is the one who benefitted.

Quick reply is that something to do with someone mentioning cake in the staff room?

Thanks. I'll get onto it today!

That's a good idea pandas

I'm a teacher, I do residential trips. Any form of a thank you would be very much appreciated. The cupcakes, hot chocolate and cards sound lovely.

Thanks finola my reasoning behind cakes is it's takes effort to make them and (to me!) shows I'm grateful for their effort and copious amounts of patience!. It's so easy to pick up a box/ tin of chocs or biscuits - especially this time of year. And I'm sure they'll be enough of those appearing next month anyway that they kind of become 'normal' iyswim?

I'm not sure there's an easy way to show just how much I appreciate them including my DS and ensuring he had a lovely week. Which he did despite all the tears and tantrums they experienced!

Definitely yay! If it were me, I would really appreciate that. It's amazing how few parents say thank you after a residential trip.

I've just come back from a 5 day residential (youth worker not a teacher), not one parent even said thanks so being offered cake would be very much appreciated!

They will love this! How thoughtful of you. Lots of parents don't even bother to say thank you nowadays.

First lot of cakes cooked 2nd lot in oven! DS helped make the cakes and even tried using the electric whisk on lowest setting. (Getting brave after a few days away!)
I have sachets of hot choc, wispa maltesers etc as well.

Ta da!!!!

You're lovely.

Oh, that look fab!

Do tell the teachers that your ds helped, especially as it seems a big step for him. How lovely - his teachers went the extra mile for him, and now he has made a huge effort in return, and stepped out of his comfort zone.

How lovely you both are

You are so lovely for doing this. Whenever we take children on a residential I think it's fair to say that, despite physically being there to pick their children up, about three (out of 30) parents say thank you, generally not one of them offers to help unload the bags from the coach and then they all disappear off with their children. Possibly they think teachers get laid overtime or get time off in lieu for going and therefore it's just all in a day's work. The thanks we get does really go some way to make up for the time we've spent away from our families. Teachers, on the whole love going on residential - and thank you, genuinely, for taking a bit of time to say thank you. X

DS has just written a lovely thankyou letter to his ELSA who was his main support throughout the week.
He then commented to me that he always has her as a group leader on trips - well yes DS, there is a reason for that!