The £3m gifts for teachers

Campaigners say cost of buying presents for teachers is

The cost of presents from pupils is revealed as parents debate the rights and wrongs of splashing out

More than £3 million of gifts will be given to teachers by pupils and their grateful parents this Christmas, according to a classroom survey.

The soaring sums spent on presents for teachers has split opinion, however, with campaigners saying the growing trend has gone too far and is putting parents under unfair pressure.

It has become a tradition for youngsters to give a gift to their teacher at the end of term, a token gesture to say thanks for all their hard work throughout the year.

And with an average spend of £8 per pupil, and around three quarters of the average class of 25 bringing in presents, the nation’s 24,477 primary school teachers are likely to have £3.5m worth of extra presents under the tree.

Often children will give their teachers wine, chocolates or flowers but some gifts are much more lavish.

Now Connect – formerly the Scottish Parent Teacher Council – is advising families not to buy presents for teachers, due to the financial pressure it can place on hard-up families.

Executive director Eileen Prior said: “This issue arose because a parent phoned in last year, saying she was being asked for £10 by the Parent Council for the teacher’s class present, and did she have to give this? Of course she didn’t have to but she felt under pressure.

“Earlier this year, we ran a parent survey about supporting families facing financial hardship. This demonstrated that parents want everyone to feel included in the life of the school and really wanted to help. They can do this by supporting our campaign which asks everyone to think again about the whole teacher gift issue.

“Parents told us of their experiences of real hardship, describing how they felt left out of the life of the school community.

“Parental involvement too often hinges on spending money for fundraising or on going into the school in the evenings, which is difficult if you don’t have someone to look after your children.

“Christmas is such a pressured, expensive time of year for families and everybody, including teachers, wants to reduce that pressure.

“Teacher gift-giving usually occurs intensively in nurseries and primary schools. Whether we are talking about huge sums of money, or lesser amounts, any contribution to a class teacher gift can be too much for a family with money worries.”

And some teachers are feeling awkward about it too.

One told The Sunday Post: “I would say about 70% of the class on average give a gift at Christmas. It’s a thoughtful touch, but absolutely not expected.

“Many teachers actually feel embarrassed by it in the current climate. Some children buy for several teachers if there’s a job share and classroom assistants too. It all adds up.

“Sometimes we get lavish gifts, but a box of chocolates for the staff room is well received. One of the best presents I’ve ever had from a child was a homemade, handwritten card. “But we don’t need anything. A simple thank you is enough.

“It sounds corny but seeing children doing well in class and enjoying school is the best present for teachers.”

Teachers’ union the EIS added: “Teachers are very much aware of the financial pressures that thousands of families are under every day of the year – and especially at Christmas.

“Schools have been working hard to cut the cost of the school day and to ensure that all children can be involved in all aspects of school life without having to pay.

“Christmas gifts for teachers are simply unaffordable for many families and are unnecessary anyway. School communities will want to keep down the cost of the school day around Christmas, too, so that all children can take full part in the festivities on an equal footing.

“There would be no better gift for a teacher than seeing this.”

The Scottish Government said: “While schools may have policies and guidance on gifts provided to teachers the purchasing of gifts for school staff is ultimately a matter for individual parents and school staff.

“We do, however, recognise that parents can face pressures from the costs associated with sending their child to school and have provided funding to the Child Poverty Action Group to highlight the total ‘Cost of the School Day’ and identify ways that schools, local authorities and central government can work to address this.”