At one primary school in South East London, the class collection for teachers and teaching assistants reached £560 – more than £18 per child. For a class of 30, that added up fast. But as one mother-of-two told the BBC, even for families who are ‘not in an uncomfortable position’, the pressure can still ‘feel the strain’.
‘Sometimes you are asked to put money into someone’s bank account and there’s a lot of pressure there,’ she said. ‘You can’t just put a few quid in or you’ll seem tight.’
“School year-end teacher collections can reach £560 per class, leaving parents feeling pressured to give more than they can afford.”
The parent who spoke to the BBC described the ritual that now unfolds in many schools: class reps send a flurry of WhatsApp messages to drum up contributions, then pass round a collective card and decide on flowers, spa days, wine or vouchers. On top of the collection, June and July often bring bake sales and ice cream sales to raise money for the school, along with collections for leaving support staff or PTA members.
The etiquette of the year-end whip-round divides opinion sharply. On the online forum Mumsnet, one parent described the amount they were asked to give as ‘insane’. Another felt pressured, especially when a class ‘Queen Bee’ organised the collection. But others argued that teachers are ‘woefully underpaid and undervalued’, and pointed out that contributing £10 each for three members of staff costs the same as taking the family out for coffee and pastries.
Maya, a mother-of-two who organises her children’s London school whip-round, says a class collection is more affordable than individual presents. She and other parents agreed on £5 per member of staff, making a total of £15 from each child for the teacher and two teaching assistants. She notes that in a year when the teacher ‘hasn’t been the best’, payouts are lower, but usually most parents contribute.
For families heading into the holidays with budgets already stretched, the end-of-term gift can be one more expense to negotiate – and one more awkward social minefield to navigate.