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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

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Original poster

Tea and coffee in the staffroom.....how do you sort it out and who pays for it?

75 replies

calzone · 30/11/2014 16:50

Morale is at an all time low and the segregation is high.

We used to pay (a lot) of money and everything was provided.

As always, some do not pay but still drink and eat and so a few decided to bring their own and not pay.

This situation is now utterly ridiculous.

Milk, tea, coffee is labelled by year group, no one will share biscuits or sweeteners and it is embarrassing when visitors arrive as to what they can drink.

I brought in milk and biscuits for everyone to use to try and get it back on track but it was all used in a day and not replaced.

We need team building. We need to sort this out.

Heeeelp!!!!!

Any thoughts?

OP posts:

Original poster

calzone · 30/11/2014 21:49

If milk can come out of a school fund then it should.

OP posts:

MrsPigling · 30/11/2014 22:20

school buys the milk, those that drink tea and coffee pay according to how many cups a week they drink

except our department where HoD buys the milk and we all provide our own tea bags :)

Gunpowder · 30/11/2014 22:26

Don't know why I am on this thread as not a teacher but I am that you don't get tea and coffee!

blueemerald · 30/11/2014 22:40

School provides tea, coffee, milk, sugar and 3 types of toast. It's recompense for being a small EBD school and needing all staff on duty at break. We also get free breakfast club/lunch providing we eat with the students.

Saves me a fortune.

BellaVita · 30/11/2014 22:56

I work in a secondary school.

Milk, tea, coffee and sugar is provided. Milkman comes twice a week. All other stuff is delivered in bulk.

We buy our own biscuits.

FabulousFudge · 30/11/2014 23:07

Ours is all provided free, including filter coffee. That's how it should be for everyone in my opinion. A least it's not Starbucks prices, I suppose!

We don't get biscuits for breaks, but we get crisps and fruit for staff meetings and cakes for parents' evenings.

We also get staff room chocolates after evening nativities, summer fair help etc.

FabulousFudge · 30/11/2014 23:09

Previous small school we got crumpets, tea cakes, toast etc at morning break and the Head personally brought us all a hot drink each first thing every morning!

tshirtsuntan · 30/11/2014 23:12

Free tea,coffee,milk & sugar at ours

NoelleHawthorne · 30/11/2014 23:14

NOTHING provided at ours. Nada. It's appalling.

Original poster

calzone · 30/11/2014 23:19

Noelle.....do you all take your own then?

OP posts:

Gunpowder · 30/11/2014 23:21

I don't think I have worked ANYWHERE, even really shitty temp jobs in industrial parks aged 18, where there hasn't been free tea and coffee. Geez maneez how do you all deal with the kids without a cup of tea?!

noblegiraffe · 30/11/2014 23:23

At my large secondary, a tealady makes tea and clears up at break time. You have to pay a termly fee for this, and add more if you have more tea at lunch (which you have to clear up yourself). If it's your birthday you bring in biscuits.

We get free sandwiches and bottles of water on parents evening.

NoelleHawthorne · 30/11/2014 23:31

Yup. Thousands of tiny milks. I take it black so I don't care. Own coffee

NoelleHawthorne · 30/11/2014 23:31

It's staff well being week this week. I did suggest it.

NoelleHawthorne · 30/11/2014 23:32

We do have a mega weekly cake day though. On rotation. We bake. It gets a bit competitive.

MyCatHasStaff · 30/11/2014 23:32

We pay about £5 per half term, but obviously there's the hard core who never pay, but quite a few of us bake, so there's very often cakes, biscuits, sausage rolls, quiches etc for everyone. We also do fairly regular lunches for a birthday, baby, leaving, end of term, where everyone brings something in. People always bring in treats on their birthdays. The HT very regularly makes cakes or some other treat to say thanks for whatever over-and-above thing we've done, and naice sandwiches are provided on parents evening. It's a great school and morale is high, not surprisingly.

Chandon · 01/12/2014 07:01

How petty and sad these arrangements are! Poor you, where it isn't included.

Never worked anywhere tea was not included.

The whole 30p for visitors, and pro-rata part timers working out to the penny how much of £5 to pay is depressing

Iggly · 01/12/2014 07:08

Never worked anywhere tea was not included

No tea and coffee for me (not a teacher) - we all bring our own. I work in the public sector and this is normal. We do get milk wars occasionally.

OP I would talk to the deputy about morale issues and suggest all hot drinks come out of the school budget. If any non hot drinkers feel left out - well what would they like?! If they only drink water then surely it makes no difference then.

Original poster

calzone · 01/12/2014 07:36

Iggly, I am going to speak to her today.

And I think squash/cordial could be an option for non coffee drinkers.

OP posts:

auntpetunia · 03/12/2014 19:22

We pay an amount per week which equates this year to £30 for the year. Which is for tea coffee hot chocolate and milk. In the summer term our head bulk buys tbags coffee sugar and hot chocolate from gbsm and the money we pay in pays for the milk which gets delivered on a daily basis and costs us £8.95 per week.

pannetone · 03/12/2014 20:45

Not a teacher but clicked on this thread. Do PTAs ever contibute to staff tea and coffee funds? Could they? I'd see the money spent as having an indirect benefit for the children in that they'd benefit from teachers who are well-refreshed and who feel appreciated.

Seems a bit daft that (primary) teachers are often inundated with chocs and smellies at Christmas and end of year but are having to find 20p or so for each hot drink!

fredfredsausagehead1 · 03/12/2014 21:16

Most places I've been it's been put 20 p in a cup and that goes to supplies but never strict, seems sensible to me

mumnosbest · 03/12/2014 21:21

Ours is based on trust. Whenever one of us spots coffee on offer we buy it, sometimes there are 3 or 4 jars in the cupboard but we never run out.

HettyD · 04/12/2014 07:51

Free tea/coffee/sugar and we have a nice lady who comes and makes it from the canteen staff - but only at break...if you want it any other time you provide your own...works well as only a short break!

Notsoskinnyminny · 05/12/2014 18:12

We pay a non-negotiable £20 a term. I only drink water or hot water and lemon (brought in from home) but the HT still insists I pay because the school pays for the water coolers, its my choice not to drink tea or coffee and she doesn't want any cliques. What really pisses me off are the people who bring cereal in and use a pint of milk.

At my last school they provided a free, hot meal before parents' evenings and we paid £1.50 pw for drinks/biscuits. The school paid one of the dinnerladies to come in early and make the drinks for morning break and we could help ourselves the rest of the day although she locked the biscuits away and when the milk was gone that was it for the day. You could open the cupboard a bit and as I've got tiny hands I was tasked with getting some for our team meetings and got moaned at whenever I came back with ginger nuts instead of jaffa cakes

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