is it " virtue signalling" or just a good thing?

Jalima1108
IMO, religion was and is a method of instilling fear in those who look to others, supposedly more knowledgeable, for guidance. The fear of offending an unknown, never seen deity, together with the thought of being denied access to 'heaven' and an everlasting life was and is used to keep people in line and. Marry that thought to the fact that people think praying can bring about cures, wishes and benefits to sufferers of whatever and you have a fantasy woven by men who had hung around like nomads with a 34 yr old man for years on end. A man who was purportedly born through miraculous insemination by someone never seen or heard at any time in any place in the universe.
Just like the brothers Grimm, the bible is a fairy story.
If you believe in JC then you believe he was a Jew, born in Judea, therefore any other religion is a falsehood.
Dec 25th is just a day.

I'm stunned by silverlining's post about the huge cash expectation toward gifts for teachers. That must be brought to the attention of governors and if it's a Church school, to the Bishop. Disgusting.

I agree with the majority here, who believe that donations of food for food banks should replace the giving of gifts to teachers at the end of every term.

Bringing it up with governors couldn’t be fine anonymously and anyway they are almost certainly on side.A very polite factual letter to the Bishop or whoever could be anonymous and would explain why it had to be anonymous because clearly this little scam is very popular isn’t it with the staff ( if it wasn’t they could stop it -)

I think it's a good idea.

I am horrified that these £25 donations are suggested, gathered in and given. As a retired teacher I 'm for the "homemade card and box of maltesers" approach!
I'd have been thoroughly embarrassed by this, but I (and my colleagues) would have stamped on it as soon as it was suggested. There's clearly a very different mindset in some of the more exclusive C of E schools.

Disgraceful. A church school too - what an example! It's almost like going back to the days when priests used to demand money to say prayers for the recently deceased so that their souls wouldn't stay in purgatory, which state was an invention of the church. Yet another way of wringing money out of those who often couldn't afford it. I would be straight to the local newspapers if the bishop or governors were dismissive.

The teachers are clearly happy with this and going to the governors with this is an absolute non starter. Given the Christian ethos ( silver said her dd was chased for the balance) so sorely lacking in this school I’m sure any parent who complained (and their children) would suffer the consequences . That’s why it would have to be an anonymous letter to someone in the Church hierarchy. I expect this goes on at other schools - how sad that they continue to get away with it.

Gabriella I didn't say I believed or did not believe; I just said that, contrary to what you said, giving to others, to the poor, is mentioned in the NT as part of the message from Jesus, whether he be the Son of God or a nomadic rebel.

If you do not wish to give to others less well off than you who have fallen on hard times, that is fine. Luckily, plenty of people do.

Bringing it up with governors couldn’t be fine anonymously and anyway they are almost certainly on side
Do you think so? I'm not sure. I do know parent governors who are on the side of what is right and this suggestion by the school does not seem right at all.

£25 per child??

Shocking!
And extremely bad manners

I think the risk of bringing it up with the governors would be too great - the parent governors at least know what is happening and are therefore implicated in the problem - could they be trusted? Why would a parent trust them? I wouldn’t, would anyone else? Anyway this is all somewhat hypothetical I suppose but I’m just saying what I would do in this situation

virtue signalling

Some of these posts almost make me laugh. Parent governors? PTA?

Why should a parent governor not want the best interests of the children and, in this case, the parents?

What kind of schools do your DGC go to if they want anything less?

When teaching, I received gifts from some pupils. Unlike most of my colleagues, I never opened them in front of the class, so as not to remind or hint to others that a gift was required. I always sent home a thank you letter. I don't think gifts are required at all. If parents want to show their appreciation, all they have to do is say thank you when they see you, or write a note or message on a card. I'm all for the food bank idea.

If a parent governor wanted the best for the children why would they not challenge the compulsory £25 per child Christmas surcharge?Well I’ve got an idea and I guess ( maybe I’m wrong) that gilly and me might be as on the same page with this.And do not be so silly Jal about the school my dgc go to - they don’t damn well force money from parents at all for Christmas presents for staff - it’s a loving caring school with a great community spirit and not a church school and the governors do a great job. As do the staff without a tax free £750 Christmas bonus.

The debate about Faith schools is an important one. However, I'm not convinced its fair to suggest that Church schools are more likely to demand money in this way. I attended a Nativity in a Catholic school this week. Lovely place, in a very deprived area. No demanding money with menaces there just everything provided for the children so they all wore the same costume whatever role they played.

silverlining I am horrified by what you write. I am sure it breaks all kinds of codes & I can hardly believe it!?

The practice I have seen grow in recent times is that a PTA class rep is in the playgound a week or 2 before the end of term & has an envelope for parents to put in a voluntary donation. No check list no specified amount. Any money collected is shared, in the form of a gift token, between the adults working in the class. DD has had such a token and she could thank all families and all kids are equally included. Not saying it is right or wrong just pointing out a benefit for children!

silverlining Governors may not be aware! If it is,a PTA arrangement then it would not necessarily come to govs. notice. The 3 parent reps on the GB I am on are fathers who do not drop their kids to school so may be less aware. However I certainly would have told my DH about the demand if he had been a gov!
Write to the Chair and express concerns.
Our school asks for a voluntary donation of £5 per term per family to help fund 'extras' ..from plants for the flowerbeds to special games for lunch time.

The school you are talking about silverlining is surely a one off. I have never heard of that amount of money being asked for. I can understand children and parents wanting to thank a teacher and a card and small present is a great way to do it. Teachers deserve a thank you. Of course I support giving to foodbanks but feel that presents to any of us could equally well be replaced by donations to foodbanks. Why should teachers lose their gifts any more than grandparents or brothers?

4allweknow - I didn’t work for a local authority directly but for various charities including housing associations. Generally we had to log all gifts (even an iced bun) but could keep gifts which were perceived to be less than £5. Over that we were expected to refuse/return them. If it was deemed too awkward to do this they went to head office where they were used for charitable purposes.

And do not be so silly Jal about the school my dgc go to - they don’t damn well force money from parents at all for Christmas presents for staff
I was meaning another posterm, not you, meliza who seemed to doubt that parent governors had the best interest of children at heart and actually represented parents' views on the board of governors.

I think we're both saying the same thing in a roundabout way.

I've never heard of this before and I think it's shocking; a real pressure on parents, especially those who are not well-off and/or may have more than one child in the school.

The parents need to make a stand against it - a united front!

It's an excellent idea and people can always ignore it if they want to.
As a former teacher, I often wondered how many of those well-meant gifts end up in charity shops after Christmas or donated to the school's Summer Fayre!

The practice I have seen grow in recent times is that a PTA class rep is in the playgound a week or 2 before the end of term & has an envelope for parents to put in a voluntary donation

Is it just me who thinks this is disgusting ? Many of the parents at my DGC’s school don’t have 2 pennies to rub together ! I know where I would tell them to shove their envelope if anyone handed me one in the playground !