This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Parents should think twice before buying Christmas gifts for their children’s teachers, according to a Scottish parents’ group, as retailers promote increasingly lavish presents for teaching staff, and families compete to buy the most expensive items.

The Scottish parents’ organisation Connect is highlighting a growing online trade in bespoke gifts for teachers, with some items costing over £100, as it calls on local parent councils and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to discourage gift-giving this festive season.

Connect’s executive director, Eileen Prior, said: “We understand that families are really keen to show their appreciation and gratitude to their child’s teachers at Christmas but this year we are urging parents to think carefully about what they are planning. A simple and heartfelt ‘thank you’ is enough.”

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Prior said expectations around Christmas put pressure on both children and parents, exposing financial differences between classmates and leading to clashes between parents over attitudes to appropriate gifts and affordability.

“We hear from stressed parents who are being asked for £10 contributions to a class teacher’s present and told that if they can’t or won’t pay, their child’s name doesn’t get put on the card,” Prior said.

Connect’s recent parent survey on families struggling with financial hardship exposed how frequently involvement in the school community depended on spending money, be that contributing to end-of-term parties and fundraising activities or being able to afford a babysitter to attend evening events, Prior said.

The organisation has joined forces with the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) – Scotland’s largest teaching union – and Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) Scotland to press parents to think again about buying Christmas presents for teachers which, it points out, mainly happens in primary schools.

Supporting Connect’s call for restraint, a spokesperson for EIS said: “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.”

CPAG Scotland’s director, John Dickie, said many teachers felt uncomfortable about receiving generous Christmas presents from children as they were well aware of the additional obligation and pressure that buying them placed on struggling families, and called on local PTAs to “challenge the culture of extravagant gifts where it exists”.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the UK-wide National Education Union, likewise supported the Scottish initiative, saying: “Teachers do not expect gifts and no child or parent/carer should feel pressurised into thinking this is necessary or in any way affects the teacher’s perception of their child.

“We know that many parents and carers struggle on a daily basis to make ends meet. Gifts for teachers at Christmas can be yet another pressure where they feel they have let their children down.”

Some of the gifts marketed at parents to buy for teachers

Regency Hampers sell a “world’s best teacher” hamper, containing champagne, smoked salmon, cheeses and Swiss chocolates, for £214.50.

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Marks & Spencer has 85 options in its teachers’ gifts section online, which promises: “From tempting chocolates to their favourite tipple, these top-class gifts for teachers will help little ones say thank you at the end of term.” The range includes boxed shortbread and whisky for £35 and a Miltonia orchid for £38.

Not on the High Street offers over 100 options in its gifts for teachers section, including a Letters of Gratitude Personalised Envelope Book for £31.75, to be filled by the class, as well as cushions, mugs and scented candles.

Waitrose’s teachers’ gifts section includes Neal’s Yard frankincense hydrating cream for £30 and Green & Black’s chocolates tasting collection for £11.50.

On Amazon you can find a teacher survival kit in a can, with earplugs, notebook and a whistle for £11.95, while a teacher’s wine glass with three engraved measure lines and the words “new term”, “half term” and “end of term” on them is £9.99 from The Gift Store.