Teacher gifts - why?

It’s definitely not mandatory, just a nice thing to do to say thank you.

Definitely no discrimination. Parents often buy for nursery staff end of term to say thanks.

My husband is a teacher & its not all its cropped up to be🙄 Working all hours of the day & during the 'summer holidays'. Teachers don't get enough recognition for what they do & all whilst being there for our children. The pay isn't really that great esp since inflation & the lack of willingness for it to be increased (did you forget about the teaching strikes not so long ago?). Teaching is one of the top 10 most stressful jobs & only a certain type of individual could do it! To answer your questions; - No its not mandatory to buy teachers a thank you gift. - No the children won't be discriminated against if they don't.

It’s not compulsory and not everyone does it. However my youngest has a severe speech disorder and I’ve given the TA a small gift for going through her speech targets each day as a thankyou. My eldest is in an autism school and they truely deserve a medal for putting up with him. He’s been physically restrained a few times due to his behaviour. Plus it’s a job that doesn’t keep staff unfortunately especially secondary school. If I could afford more than a £5 box of sweets I would.

Its a nice thing to do for those who can afford it but I dont think teachers ‘expect it. I find its the parents who are more judgy not the teachers. I personally feel that parents should buy their own gifts for a teacher if they want to and not rely on a wider group donation - that way those who dont get involved wont feel singled out.

Not mandatory but many like to do it as a thank you. My step sons class, all the parents that could afford/ wanted to, grouped together to do a collection for the teachers and then we got them gift vouchers. everyone grouping together meant we had £360 for 3 teachers. The card was signed from the entire class so no child was left out.

It’s not mandatory at all, my son is actually mainly taught by a learning support worker. He is in pre school nursery so I know she is actually working really hard and not getting well paid at all. So we bought her a voucher to say thank you. Also bought one for the lady who looks after him at after school club who again isn’t on a teachers salary (even though that isn’t the best anyway!) They both just take really good care of my kid and he loves them both so much. Plus I used to pay hundreds of pounds a month for childcare and now he’s at school nursery all I pay for is after school club so to me I’m saving a fortune!

@Sarah🦄 same here for my husband. He has also in the past payed out of his own pocket for things like paper, glue etc as school don't always have the budget. Not to mention he has in the past had to buy food to keep in his classroom for his class, as I think a lot of people would be surprised how many children come into school having not had breakfast. He would never expect gifts, but I do think perhaps sometimes people feel pressured to - by society, not by the teachers! You only need to step into sainsburys to see all the teacher gift stuff and it can make people feel like they have to get something. A box of chocs or whatever is nice but a lot of the trinket things like keyring etc do end up being landfill fodder. One school he was at the parents clubbed together to put 50p or whatever into a fund and got a sainsburys voucher. Much more useful! Especially as some of that went back into buying stuff for his class, like biscuit snacks for when they go to swimming.

Also his favourite gifts are when a child draws him a picture of their favourite anime character or write a letter. Means much more to him than a bottle of wine :)

End of term gift aren't mandatory, but it's just a nice way of saying thank you and showing appreciation if you can. As a teacher myself, I can assure you that we work most of the holidays and put alot of our own money into getting resources for children. We don't expect gifts, but if you could spare a minute to just talk to your child's teacher to say thank you and you appreciate what they've done, they would like that just as much as a gift!x

I’m a teacher…. Like in any profession, gifts are nice as they make you feel appreciated, but they are definitely not mandatory! We are well aware of the differences in families incomes and I don’t know anyone who would discriminate against a child for not giving a gift! One of the ones that meant the most was a 99p bar of Cadburys that I know a student had gone to get herself! A nice thank you card, written by the student is often far more meaningful. But again this is appreciated and not expected!

Lots of teachers in my family and among my friends and there is certainly no obligation, nor would it be expected or any child thought less of if they didn’t give a gift. Personally I think it’s a nice thing to do if you can - even if you just have your kid make a card (probs a better gift than a mug or something anyway!). Teachers are such a huge part of their lives and do so much more for the kids they teach than people realise. The hours are long, they use a lot of their own resources and it’s an exceptionally stressful job.

As a teacher of 9 years its no t mandatory at all nor is it expected. Some parents directly wnat to express their gratitude and specially shout me or other eschews out NOT just for doing the bare minimum of the job but for going above and beyond actually developing a working relationship with the parents guardians as such Yes I've had lovely expensive gifts and I am just as much greatful for the lesser copying gifts too. Handwritten notes from a student or even fruits and a card handmade or store bought its the fact they've thought to get me something for doing more than my job. This year alone I've know over 30 teachers who have quit the profession. Mostly because of the pay (its not at all what it's cracked up to be), lack of respect. Lack of support from the education system. And so much more So when a child or parent reaches out with a handmade or even bought gift it touches my heart. As a teacher, I am also: the parent. The sibling. The friend. The counsellor. The punching bag. The referee.

Not mandatory. I'm not sure really because my partner is a teacher and gets maybe 1 gift at Christmas and 2 at the end of the year out of hundreds of students. And these are just sweets from the vending machine students have chosen themselves to get him, not from parents. It is secondary school though Of course there is no discrimination against children whose mums don't get gifts 😅😅😅😅 that would be ridiculous. I think especially at primary school some mums are genuinely grateful as there are a lot of teachers going the extra mile and helping children You have nooooo idea how hard teachers work. They go home at 3pm and work until midnight at their home office planning and marking

Agree with Catherine that teachers get things with their own money like basic supplies. Pens etc, my partner supplies tissues for entire classes during flu season. Apparently not all mums think of packing that. Or maybe cant afford. 🫠 I think its like parenting. A lot more hidden work than people realise and considering all the evening and weekend work and holiday work the pay is not great at all. I would definitely help my son make a card or small gift when he's older to teach him gratitude and respect for people who work with and care for him

It’s not mandatory at all and there is definitely 0 discrimination against those who can’t/didn’t buy or give gifts. It’s just a way to show appreciation and say thank you. I gifted my daughter’s teacher at Christmas and at the end of term because I know how stressful the job is and I appreciate her patience with my daughter as I know she has been a handful for the past couple of months. The pay isn’t as great as people think, the amount of pension has actually gone down, the holidays are not a holiday as you still need to plan and prepare for the following term otherwise you’re stuck at work for an extra 3/4 hours after the kids leave and majority of teachers end up using our pay to purchase supplies. Like Sarah said it’s not all it’s cropped up to be and is very stressful. I wish the job was as glamorous as it sounds.

We definitely don't go home at 3:30pm.

I always made my teacher a card when I was younger to say thank you (infants/juniors) I don't think anything is expected

Definitely not mandatory, very much a choice but do think you should note that being a teacher doesn’t mean good pay and extra holidays! In fact, a lot of teachers I know personally (friends and family) spend a lot out of their own pocket for stuff for school because school can’t afford it and most have pro rata salaries so tend to try find odd jobs over the summer!