Christmas gifts for teachers

No...no...no. I absolutely hate being told what to ‘give/donate’. I will give what I want to give to whatever. I also don’t agree with sponsoring. Maybe I am a miserable cow!

As a sidestep ... I recall when my two sons were in Primary school. Home came the A4 NSPCC sponsor form - can’t recall what the children had to do. I then was a single parent with a budget to work to. I had no family and would not ask neighbours. Needless to say, there was only my name on the form with a small amount promised.

My youngest got upset about this. That was when I wrote to the NSPCC, copy to Headteacher., stating my own family’s situation. The reply back from NSPCC left me rather bemused and gobsmacked. They said that I should knock on doors for sponsorship because that way I might discover that a child is being abused and report it to them. Pardon ...... did I hear you right. I wrote back to them.

That was some 30 yrs ago and it still annoys me to think about it. Do you think that an abuser would give to the NSPCC? ?

Try to have a good Christmas everyone. .

There’s an interesting discussion on Mumsnet for anyone who’s interested, with several mentioning that they have a class collection of £5/£10 per head or more. Of course, they could all be liars too.....

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3612648-teacher-presents-end-of-term

I recall often being asked to donate to the school and it wasn't a whatever you can afford would be appreciated ask..we were told what was expected PER child.
This was in the early nineties...so times haven't changed.

When I was teaching, I got loads of gifts at Christmas and at the end of term, none of which were solicited. I couldn't ever use the "smellies" and shouldn't have eaten the chocolate so although the thought was appreciated, it really was a bit of a waste of money. Had I had the forethought, it would have been a good idea to ask for a small donation which I could have put towards stuff for the classroom but I hate it when people recommend an amount. At my son's school (private) they asked for donations of around £25! I always ignored them and wrote to thank the individual teachers who I felt had gone beyond the call of duty.

I think this is nonsense! Sorry, but it is. No school would ever ask for that amount of money or , indeed , any money to give as a sort of bonus to teachers. If any money has been asked for, it would be in support of a charity. My daughter’s now MIL ,when we first met , got onto the subject of teachers somehow ( without knowing I was a teacher) and ‘told’ me all sorts of stories about how teachers earned vast salaries for little work, were poorly educated and “robbed the government “ . I’d take this letter business with a huge side order of salt.

Either a successful entrepreneur or a criminal Sunlover!

I started teaching in 1974 in a primary school in a deprived area of London. One Christmas I received a number of gifts from children in my class. One little boy appeared at my desk the next morning with a pint of milk he had nicked from a doorstep on the way to school. At Easter he presented me with a large bunch of daffodils picked from neighbours gardens. Still can’t help but smile when I think of it all these years later. Wonder what became of that lovely funny boy.

A few years ago the school my grandchildren attended sent a letter requesting people not to buy presents for teachers but if they felt the need a small donation which would be used towards books for the school library. Think this may have been sent during the summer term to Year 6 who were leaving.

My nephew and his wife are teachers and they receive loads of presents at Christmas, Easter and end of term. These are often cute little "Best Teacher" ornaments and inevitably they end up in a Charity shop (to be bought by mothers who give them to their children to give to teachers!!) It is a silly waste of money and I think schools should say "no more". A picture or a card made by the child is much more appreciated.

That`s a damn cheek £10 ?.
Some families are struggling as it is.

Unbelievable, as a recently retired teacher who worked in many deprived schools I cannot believe this.

Bit surely this is not legal? Can you really tell people that they have to give you presents?

In Denmark, where I live and taught this would be regarded as a form of bribery on behalf of parents, or as extortion from the school.

Are we talking about private schools or state run schools, or both?

I would send a strongly worded but polite complaint to the school board or the education authority, followed by a complaint to my M.P.

Calendargirl

I think Ellianne’s post sums up about why it is ridiculous to buy presents for teachers.

I hope she checked the sell by dates on her unwanted chocolates before she ‘re-gifted’ them to other teachers or not-so-favourite aunts.

Yes Calendargirl. Better to pass them on quickly than to throw away a dozen out of date boxes of chocs!

In answer to your question Ninat472, yes, they do, at least they did in my former school. Dinner ladies, TA's, office staff, crossing patrol person, caretaker, etc - they all usually got a bit of something from someone, I can assure you.

Jillybird it could well be an academy although only a small proportion of primary schools are.

Over a third now, Callistemon.

I think Ellianne’s post sums up about why it is ridiculous to buy presents for teachers.

I hope she checked the sell by dates on her unwanted chocolates before she ‘re-gifted’ them to other teachers or not-so-favourite aunts.

Also a retired teacher. At Christmas we would get mountains of chocolates, loads of toiletries and the occasional welcome bottle of wine. Most of my gifts were donated to charities. The best gift from a 6th form leaver was a lovely photo frame which is still in use 20 years later. I think the donation idea is good - it doesn't mean that it's compulsory.

As a teacher I can assure parents I don’t need a present or a donation to anything that might be considered a present. A bit of a Christmas thanks and a homemade card is lovely.
No teacher or school should expect anything like the above and I’m stunned that a request was put into a letter asking for a donation. Was the letter from the head teacher or maybe the parents association? If is was the parents association had the request been cleared by the Head?
Families have different incomes and priorities for their money . Some have not cause to worry about their financial situation others do. Even in a private school some families struggle to pay the fees.
I have received many boxes of chocolates and bath stuff and I am grateful for the thought but I have noticed how awkward a child feels who has not given me anything feels because they feel embarrassed or left out as I thank the other children.
Giving to teachers is out of hand in primary schools . The school should be ashamed of itself even for asking for a donation. Do they have a list of who had paid and hasn’t, Do they note the names of those that don’t give?

twinnytwin

My two granddaughters' school is having Christmas Jumper day today, which happens every year. They are asked to take items for a local food bank. My two staggered down the road armed to the teeth with pasta, rice, tins, chocolate.

Such a good idea. One local primary school is doing the reverse Advent Calendar idea, finishing collections this Friday.
Each child was only asked to bring one item during the collection period so even parents with more than one child, weren’t overwhelmed. I don’t think there was a checklist, but I don’t know for sure.
Some children have brought something in on several days but there isn't a competition. They have had a zoom call where a food bank worker explained how the donations were sorted and what happened to them.

I dare say we’ll never hear the full story, or see the original letter, but perhaps if parents in the schools concerned contacted the press (who are desperate for bad news to publish at the moment), the schools would be named and shamed.
If you don’t do something about it besides complain on here, the practice will simply continue.
In terms of school contributions, my MIL told me how they were all expected to ‘buy a brick’ every term to build the new school. She resented the demands on her slender resources at the time but was delighted when 20+ years later, her granddaughter got a place at the ‘new school’.

My two granddaughters' school is having Christmas Jumper day today, which happens every year. They are asked to take items for a local food bank. My two staggered down the road armed to the teeth with pasta, rice, tins, chocolate.

I have heard if this before. It's outrageous!!

I doubt anyone will find out the whole story, because people are too ready to start criticising, as it has never happened to them and so must be a lie, or teacher bashing.

The gifts I received at Christmas as an infant teacher varied a lot, depending on the economic location of the school, but were mostly wine, chocolates or toiletries. The best one was a small clock, which I realised after a fair long time was actually going backwards!
I was properly grateful for all the children's offerings, although many had no idea what was inside the parcel and I wouldn't open any in front of the class. I always thought there was an element of competition between certain children (or their parents)!

Perhaps the school in question here suggested a maximum donation of £10 and any money received would go to charity. Maybe we don't know the whole story... I think teachers are really supposed to declare the value of such gifts for tax purposes.

My grandchildren’s school sent out a letter this year telling parents not to give presents to teachers. Apparently parents complained so presents have been reinstated. My DD checked and homemade presents are ‘perfect’.

The school is in a deprived area in the NE. School donations are £1.00 for non-uniform days for charity. This year the school sent out a letter suggesting a website for books if people wished to buy something useful for the children. No compulsion involved at all.

My other DD’s children attend Academies (privatised state schools) in Bristol. These schools regularly send out requests for ‘donations’, usually a minimum of £5.00.

I think demanding money from parents is appalling! How do the school know the personal situation of the family? I wonder if this is more prevalent in wealthier areas of the country?