10% of parents splash £25 on gifts for teacher

Vast majority purchase a present to show appreciation

One in 10 parents spend £25 or more on an end-of-year present for their child’s teacher, according to a poll.

The survey suggests that many mums and dads are picking out gifts as a thank you for school staff.

The vast majority of those polled by Mumsnet say they buy a present, with more than half (57%) saying they buy a gift from their family to their child’s teacher, while a further 26% say they get a present via a class collection.

Asked how much they spend on an end-of-year thank you for school staff, the most popular answer was up to £10 (chosen by 23%), with 11% spending up to £15, 15% handing over up to £20, and 4% spending up to £25.

Some 10% admitted that they splash out £25 or more.

Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts said: “Most parents are really grateful for teachers’ efforts and like to show their appreciation at the end of the school year. The main worry is how to avoid gifting the same teacher multiple boxes of Roses and bottles of cheap plonk.”

Three-fifths of those questioned agreed that parents and children should give teachers presents or tokens of appreciation, whether these are bought or home-made.

Around two-thirds (65%) said they buy gifts because they like to show their appreciation for staff, while 15% say they do so if someone has gone above and beyond their job and 8% do so because they do not want to look mean and everyone else seems to do it.

Chocolates were the most popular token to give a school worker, the poll found, followed by contributing to a class collection (20%), vouchers (17%), alcohol (16%) and a gift made by a child (13%).

Just under half (44%) said they feel pressurised to give their child’s teacher an end-of-year present, with 41% disagreeing and the rest unsure.

In addition, 45% agreed that some parents appear to enjoy the “oneupmanship” of buying the best present.

The vast majority (79%) said their child enjoys giving a present to their teacher.

The poll questioned 1,006 Mumsnet users with at least one child at primary school.