Teacher's Tea Fund

[Foxtrot92]

I work as TA in a very small school, working only 2 hours in the afternoon, 3 days a week.

Today a teacher approached me and asked for £15 towards the tea fund for the term. She was very nice and said that's what everyone was contributing.

I refused politely saying that I'm only in 6 hours a week, bring in my own mug with tea and sugar in and only use a splash of milk. I did offer something towards the milk or offered to start bringing in my own. The teacher flapped muttering 'fine, if that's how you want to be' before storming off.

WIBU? As a TA on 6 hours a week for minimum wage, I can't afford £15 for a tea fund I hardly benefit from. I don't eat the cakes and biscuits they buy (don't like cakes and biscuits ).

We had this when I worked in the civil service. Everyone had their own cups, tread tea bags, coffee etc but there was a milk fund. I was only part time so I paid part time money - all good.
Then the milk fund went up as people who WEREN'T paying kept taking it (some for their dog's breakfast, yes seriously!) I got fed up with taking my milk in with my name on that people still kept using.
I'm quite choosy about tea but I discovered that coffee mate powdered milk actually tastes quite acceptable in tea. Kept that I my desk, problem solved.

Don't know where that " tread" came from!^

kity, if I can't affford to split a bill, I don't go out. I've missed out on several meals with friends because of this. And I write as a vegetarian who is usually driving so not drinking and doesn't have a zillion courses. If you chose to go out and blow your budget that's your choice obviously,

Wow I wish people would RTF and not make assumptions. I DO NOT take a tea break. I go in early to say hi and set up and grab my tea then.

I've bought some milk to take in with me today and will also be taking in my own milk pot things so no one can complain

I also think £15 each when there's only 5 full time members of staff is ridiculous. How much tea can they be drinking?! 😅

When I was a full time TA, I didn't contribute to the tea and coffee fund and nobody made me or raised it with me. It was about £15 per term too but there were lots of members of staff in that junior school drinking lots of tea and coffee.

I used to take in those Latte type sachets which only require hot water. I would have paid if I used the school's supplies but I never did. My class teacher also bought her own herbal tea bags in too. So, YANBU but need to make sure they know you aren't using any school things.

I'm glad at work that the drinks are supplied for free. The amount of tea/coffee that my colleagues drink, it'd get super expensive. That's why we dont have a drinks machine, wouldnt last a day at work.

That said, I never drink hot drinks and always get my own, so I wouldnt contribute if we had a tea fund.

Wow I wish people would RTF and not make assumptions

Where's the fun in that, when we could just leap in and put the boot in?

You don't like cake and biscuits? YAB extremely U and are not to be trusted around the tea station.

Catsize: "kity, if I can't affford to split a bill, I don't go out. I've missed out on several meals with friends because of this. And I write as a vegetarian who is usually driving so not drinking and doesn't have a zillion courses. If you chose to go out and blow your budget that's your choice obviously,!

That's great for you, you've made your decision according to your priorities. Personally I'd rather try enable my more skint friends to join in and enjoy their company than for them to just not come at all, but we're a close bunch who care about each other deeply and accept that we all go through periods of being more skint than the others or more well-off. If someone truly couldn't afford to come due to circumstances the rest of us would split the bill and pay for their meal. I'm sorry you don't have friendships like that.

Can we delete this thread before the Academy Chain Head finds it and devises more fucking money-saving cuts while still trousering that hefty Exec Head salary?

YANBU.

Also, slightly O/T- but Morrisons do really, really excellent insulated travel flasks for about four quid.

I'd strongly recommend just investing in one of those and cutting out the kitchen politics altogether.

"Today 23:50 Catsize

Do you split a restaurant bill in a 'but I didn't drink alcohol/had cheaper vegetarian options/didn't have dessert' kind of way by any chance?"

I am done paying for other people to get smashed. I've been to too many meals where people spend huge amounts on alcohol, and I don't drink it at all (intolerant). The alcohol is what jacks restaurant bills through the roof, not the food.
I find those people who complain about us non-drinkers not paying are just looking for someone to subsidise them (and it's never just a glass of wine or so, it's champagne, several bottles of wine, cocktails, and perhaps a liqueur after dinner. An example is being asked for €50-60 when I had a single meal which cost about €15).

On the topic, I'd offer £5, just to be seen to be part of things.

Tea funds I have been in, in I think every school I've worked at, end up covering a cuppa 'here and there' for volunteers, students, people shadowing, the odd workman, and for visitors too so it is never 'just' providing drinks for the people that pay in to it.

Most schools I've worked in (Primary so tend to have a staff of under 25 rather than dozens and dozens in secondaries) then use the tea fund if they want to send a token bunch of flowers - say a cleaner has been bereaved or a dinner lady off sick or something, when you want to make a small gesture without having to have separate collections all the time.

Also, I'd probably have 4 or 5 drinks across the day - so probably around 5p for a coffee which I don't think is too bad

I cringe when I hear stuff like this. The amount of time wasted on a staff member calculating who owes what and collecting the money would be better put to use actually doing their job. Y'know, cos teachers and support staff have so much time on their hands....

At DH's company, the kitchen cupboards are full of cereal. There are fruit bowls dotted around the office and tea and decent coffee on tap. The thinking is, if the company feeds and waters the workers they will come in early/work through lunch/stay late.

Disclaimer: I know teaching staff come in early/work through lunch/stay late. The difference is, so many sound miserable and it's shit like not even being able to supply some tea bags and milk that compounds the misery.

There. Is. No. Way. I. Would. Be. A. Teacher. For. Many. Reasons. Including. This.

It would be worth the HT making tea, coffee and biscuits part of the compensation package, just to help with MH issues in staff. As has been said, it's clearly causing misery. A happy parent helps the well-being of a child, the same can be said for teachers.

God, this all sounds so dreary - glad I don't work in the public sector.

Mind you, I buy the tea etc for our workplace (on a company card) and we get through:

5kg of sugar every two weeks
240 tea bags every two weeks
6 big jars of coffee every two weeks
7 pints of milk a day

For 25 staff.

A factory and it's offices run on hot drinks on the hour every hour :)

zippydoodaar but think of the holidays...

strange, I'm not sure. As I said upthread, I'm usually the vegetarian non-drinker. I would not expect or want others to subsidise my meal. Nor would I divulge that I was a bit skint or whatever. I just make an excuse and not go. I'd feel mortified if subsidised. If I go out with friends, I expect to split the bill. They're my friends. So, it costs me £20 extra? That might just be the price to pay for a decent night out with friends and I don't begrudge them. If I can't afford it, I don't go. kity, that says nothing about my friends, more about personal pride perhaps. I don't want to de-rail. Sorry OP.

and the 3pm finish, Androidsdreamofelectricsheep?

and the 3pm finish, Androidsdreamofelectricsheep?

At DH's company, the kitchen cupboards are full of cereal. There are fruit bowls dotted around the office and tea and decent coffee on tap

My cousin used to work for Google. An amazing place to work for things like that.

topcat it doesn't need to be dreary, a simple pro rata fund with everyone contributing and the thing will take minimal input, it only becomes a pain when people duck out of paying for stuff they are using or get very pedantic about it. We simply aren't allowed to spend tax payers money on our drinks so it's either no drinks, every person for themselves or a team approach.

We simply aren't allowed to spend tax payers money on our drinks so it's either no drinks, every person for themselves or a team approach.

I think it's stuff like this is where the public sector is going so wrong.

I generally drink about three cups of tea a day often less. How much would that cost?

160 teabags in ALDI costs £1.49
£1.49 / 160
= 0.0093125 x 3
= 0.0279375
so let's round it up 3p

4 pints of milk @ £1.00
so probably about 10p of milk

13p a day for both

Let's be really generous and round it up to 15p. So, the UK is one of the richest countries in the world but we can't cough up another 15p per teacher, nurse, doctor, physio, ot, hca, receptionist to make working life a little bit nicer for them.

The government wonders why we have a nursing and teacher crisis and they spend millions employing consultants to produce reports in a bid to solve the problem.

Jee-zus!

Yes why make life dreary for those in caring professions, their morale impacts service users.