Parents told: Don’t spend over £50 on teacher’s gift

MOST children don’t give their teachers Christmas presents – and those who do probably draw the line at a card and a box of chocolates.

At one school in Oxfordshire, however, it seems the seasonal gift giving has become a touch excessive.

So much so that the school has asked overly generous parents not to spend more than £50 on treats for Sir or Miss.

St Helen and St Katharine independent girls’ school in Abingdon has had to impose the price cap so staff are not put in an ‘awkward position’, The Times reported.

It comes amid claims that some teachers at private schools are being showered with expensive gifts including designer handbags and meals at top restaurants.

In what has been described by one critic as a ‘particularly joyless’ move, parents at the £5,490-a-term St Helen and St Katharine will also be banned from giving teachers vouchers worth more than £100.

Bursar David Eley said the school’s charitable status prompted the decision. He said they were ‘obliged to have a policy in this area to ensure strong governance’.

Parents on the family internet forum Mumsnet expressed disbelief, with many writing that the average amount they would spend on their children’s teachers would be between £5 and £20. One teacher wrote: ‘I’d be mortified if every parent thought they had to spend £10 on me, over the class that would be £300.

‘The thing I appreciate most is a note in the Christmas card to say their child is happy and settled.’

Meanwhile a senior editor at the Good Schools Guide said that by introducing the cap, some parents may feel that £50 was the going rate for a teacher’s present.