Staffroom cleaning

vamos!

Hi. Just wondering how cleaning works in other staff rooms. We have a roster where a staff member is assigned a week to be responsible for cleaning the staff room- making tea at tea break, loading and unloading dishwasher (after morning, tea break and lunch break and after school) and tidying the pace after school. We have to make the big pots of tea and set out cups etc before breaks and leave the place as new after school, as well as cleaning out the fridges. I am currently the lucky one on cleaning this week and it's crazy busy. I missed some of my tasks toady because I had supervision and only one free class and I was delayed talking to a worried student at tea break. This was frowned upon which doesn't bother me but I would like to know if other schools operate like this or what your arrangements are? I wonder if there is a more efficient way because no clean cups or tea at lunch break is a recipe for cantankerous teachers!!

RealJohn

Well look at you with your 'dishwasher'. Aren't we posh?

Seriously though, in our place, you tidy up after yourself and if people leave stuff lying around, the cleaners usually clean it after school (we don't have a dishwasher, as you might have gathered). Frankly, I'd be extremely annoyed if they brought in a policy like the one you've just described in our place. I'm not a cleaner and I'm not a tea lady. I'm a teacher and I don't make tea for other people unless I happen to be making it for myself (which is very rare anyway) and they happen to be around. I like to think I'd refuse to make it for the entire staff.

We have enough to be doing besides adding the stuff you've described. Let them make their own tea.

bearhugs

I've seen both ways. Personally I prefer when the cleaners do it, it can be hard to fit it in when you have a very busy day as you've described. We usually clean up after ourselves during the day, loading dishwasher etch, then the cleaner gives it a once over at the end of the day.

One school I worked at had cleaners to clean the staffroom and they also bought the biscuits and tea and all that. While I was there they announced that they would no longer be buying biscuits for us as they were sick of cleaning up crumbs from the carpet! Staff were disgusted, its not like the place was filthy just the normal few crumbs after the day. Management didn't step in though, and that was the end of our biscuits!

Clairebell

...Personally I don't care...as long as the room is actually clean. Might help if people picked up after themselves

Millem

We have a dishwasher and the cleaner looks after everything but we make our own tea/coffee. A lot of our staff don't even bother to put the dirty cups/spoons/plates/bowls in the dishwasher. They also leave cups in classrooms, it's so annoying I found 4 dirty cups in my classroom today after a single period from 1 teacher!!!

vamos!

No dishwasher sounds most unhygienic for a large staff. We wouldn't have enough hot water to wash a couple of hundred cups per day! To be fair most staff do pick up after themselves but cups are laid out on the trolley and the dishwasher is packed from the trolley but ultimately the responsibility lies with the staff. I suppose my week is almost up but since I teach languages I spend most lunchtimes doing orals or my extra curricular work and I am rarely around at tea break, so it is a bit annoying to have to cancel my actual work to make the bloody tea!

byhookorbycrook

We have a dishwasher, would never wok if we all had to queue for the sink, draining board, tea towels.

We buy our own biscuits. There's a kitty for milk, sugar, tea, coffee.

We all tidy after ourselves and the cleaner gives a quick run over the place after school.

acequion

`Cripes Vamos,no offence but I get the horrors every time I hear about your school!

You've already told us that all or almost all staff members do an average of two extra curricular activities. You've also posted that as a language teacher,you give loads of free time coaching for orals and I think you intimated that the school expects this. And now you tell us that ye have to do all this cleaning work! That's not a school,it's a bloody sweatshop!!

Seriously though,I don't know how you guys stand it. While most of our staff aren't exactly bolshy,I couldn't see any of them agreeing to take on such cleaning and tea making duties. In our staff,everyone makes his /her own tea/coffee and duly puts the cups and plates back on the rack for the dishwasher. The cleaner takes care of the rest and likewise the cleaning of the staffroom. We have enough to do!

vamos!

acequion wrote: »

`Cripes Vamos,no offence but I get the horrors every time I hear about your school!

You've already told us that all or almost all staff members do an average of two extra curricular activities. You've also posted that as a language teacher,you give loads of free time coaching for orals and I think you intimated that the school expects this. And now you tell us that ye have to do all this cleaning work! That's not a school,it's a bloody sweatshop!!

Seriously though,I don't know how you guys stand it. While most of our staff aren't exactly bolshy,I couldn't see any of them agreeing to take on such cleaning and tea making duties. In our staff,everyone makes his /her own tea/coffee and duly puts the cups and plates back on the rack for the dishwasher. The cleaner takes care of the rest and likewise the cleaning of the staffroom. We have enough to do!

It's actually a nice school and while we work hard, we have nice students and most parents are good. The principal does his best for us and will stand up for the teacher if we are in the right. Maybe it's because we are an old-fashioned private school ( I am not privately paid). There have been a few grumbles about our cleaning arrangements so I wanted to find out how other places operate and propose a new system for next year. Thanks for the input.

Mrsbraxton

In our school we have a rota with two teachers on each week. We have a dishwasher and plenty of cups so it doesn't tend to mount up too often!

Inspector Coptoor

I worked in a school where that was the norm (the rota thing).
Just not possible with all the demands of the job currently.

I'm glad I work in a school where what the OP outlined isn't the case.

evolving_doors

Dare I say it Vamos! ... but can you opt out? i.e. just drink water from a refillable bottle... any visitors you entertain though might be gasping (but you could bring in a travel kettle and styrofoam cups for the day!)...

acequion

vamos! wrote: »

It's actually a nice school and while we work hard, we have nice students and most parents are good. The principal does his best for us and will stand up for the teacher if we are in the right. Maybe it's because we are an old-fashioned private school ( I am not privately paid). There have been a few grumbles about our cleaning arrangements so I wanted to find out how other places operate and propose a new system for next year. Thanks for the input.

Didn't mean to offend about your school vamos.I guess all schools have their pros and their cons.But I would definitely propose a move away from the rota system as it's just too much nowadays. Maybe have everyone make their own tea /coffee and do their own tidying up. But the staffroom definitely would need the input of a cleaner just as every other room on a school premises.

Pwpane

When our tea break was reduced to 10 mins, a 'tea lady' was brought in as a sweetener, paid by the school. It works very well but we have a large staff so is really essential. There's no way you could make your own tea or even wash your own cup afterwards never mind have time to drink it.

km79

Pwpane wrote: »

When our tea break was reduced to 10 mins, a 'tea lady' was brought in as a sweetener, paid by the school. It works very well but we have a large staff so is really essential. There's no way you could make your own tea or even wash your own cup afterwards never mind have time to drink it.

10 minutes ? how long for lunch and what time do ye finish?
that's very short

ethical

A tea lady makes the tea at 11.Everyone fends for them selves at lunch time.A sore point recently is the €85.00 requested for 'tea money' which is putting some people off paying, saying they will bring in their own box of teabags( which cost around €5 or €6 for a large box of top branded teabags).One lady says the present system is great value at something like €2.50 per day.......but if one does not eat biscuits its a bit much in others opinions to hand over this €80.00 not to mention the Social Committees request of a frightening amount for retirees!!! and the endless amount of time we now give for nothing.Where will it all stop!:mad:

solerina

ethical wrote: »

A tea lady makes the tea at 11.Everyone fends for them selves at lunch time.A sore point recently is the €85.00 requested for 'tea money' which is putting some people off paying, saying they will bring in their own box of teabags( which cost around €5 or €6 for a large box of top branded teabags).One lady says the present system is great value at something like €2.50 per day.......but if one does not eat biscuits its a bit much in others opinions to hand over this €80.00 not to mention the Social Committees request of a frightening amount for retirees!!! and the endless amount of time we now give for nothing.Where will it all stop!:mad:

85 and we get biscuits as well....ye are doing well, we pay 75 and just get tea, coffee, milk and sugar !!!

Hazelnut Button

solerina wrote: »

85 and we get biscuits as well....ye are doing well, we pay 75 and just get tea, coffee, milk and sugar !!!

Yikes! We were only asked for €20. (no biscuits)

acequion

€85 is crazy! We pay €40. That supplies tea,coffee,milk and I think,sugar. People bring their own biscuits if they want. Contributions to retirements are at our own discretion,but the recommended amount is €20 per retiree. But nobody is made to feel obliged to contribute, which is fair. We have a very big staff,so maybe that's why our contribution costs are reasonable.

Pinkycharm

We pay €50 and there is a rota for teachers including the principal and deputy just to wash and collect cups- we make tea and coffee ourselves. Once a week we have cake or buns usually on a friday!

dory

We don't pay anything but don't get biscuits. Have a tea lady who puts pots of tea on the tables at 11 so there isn't a stampede and a dishwasher for later (that the poor tea lady also fills and empties). She has even been known to follow me to class when I forget my books and fish my car keys out of a bin.... Must get her a bottle of something.
Vamos your school sounds horrendous!

byhookorbycrook

Tea lady??How many on staff??? We are about to start fiver Friday, where people pay the fiver and three staff members make or order lunch.

evolving_doors

Ya the cleaning lady makes the tea/coffee at first break and we try our best to pile it all onto dishwasher trays after... cleaner finishes off..
After lunch there is some token effort to fill a dishwasher but ultimately it's the same cleaner who cleans up..
It's a massive perk of the job but keeps everyone sweet..no fightin over rota etc..
Tea/coffee/bikkies free too (although mostly ginger nut biscuits which aren;t biscuits) ! No fightin over kitties either there...

I feel bad for disclosing that...

I'm sure we should be paying benefit in kind... hope Joe Duffy doesn;t find out.

Sweet Rose

I worked in a few schools and I was shocked at how filthy some teachers left the staff room, some people must be used to people always tidying up after them. It takes less than a minute to put a mug into a dishwasher, clean crumbs off a table, mop up your tea stains off the table. Basic manners.

In the first school I ever worked in, little break was held in my classroom as it was too far to go to the staff room and my classroom was closest to the yard. I didn't mind other teachers in the classroom but not many tidied up after themselves. As soon as the bell rang when yard was over, everyone was out of there like a shot. Milk and tea stains everywhere, a hot kettle left on the children's table, biscuit crumbs left behind, empty milk cartons all over the shop.
(Sorry rant over).

As it was the first school I worked in, I wanted to keep the peace but now I wouldn't put up with it.

Also, in a few schools I worked in, the SNAs were coming into the staff room straight after the teachers break so it'd be nice if staff room was left in a half decent state.

In my last school, there was a roster for the dishwasher. We were paired up and would have to load and empty the dishwasher for a week once a term. I didn't mind, I was glad some people had to tidy up for once!

Caiseoipe19

No dishwasher in my school, although quite a small number of staff compared to some other schools. Everyone makes their own tea and cleans up after themselves.

Everyone in the staffroom has brought in their own cup for themselves to use though. So if they don't clean it, it'll be dirty for the next time they want to use it!

RainyDay

Sweet Rose wrote: »

Also, in a few schools I worked in, the SNAs were coming into the staff room straight after the teachers break so it'd be nice if staff room was left in a half decent state.

Is this kind of segregation common? Are SNAs not fit to share the same space as teachers?

mirrorwall14

I would imagine it's that the SNA's are on duty with their students during break

Sweet Rose

RainyDay wrote: »

Is this kind of segregation common? Are SNAs not fit to share the same space as teachers?

That's not what I meant. The SNAs had a separate lunch break to teachers. I think this is quite common as the SNAs had to accompany their assigned children during yard time.So literally the teachers would leave after their lunch break and the SNAs would come in. The staff room was always left in a tip. I felt sorry for the SNAs!

RH149

We had a tea lady back in the nineties but when she retired she was never replaced ....well a dishwasher was put into the kitchen so I guess that replaced her. We have a rota and take turns emptying the dishwasher but other than that we clean up after ourselves but that's literally wiping down a surface if you leave a mess....We aren't sweeping floors or anything as the staffroom is cleaned by the cleaners who clean the school in the evening.
I think there'd be a revolt if we had to do what you do in your school Vamos!

Pwpane

Sweet Rose wrote: »

I worked in a few schools and I was shocked at how filthy some teachers left the staff room, some people must be used to people always tidying up after them. It takes less than a minute to put a mug into a dishwasher, clean crumbs off a table, mop up your tea stains off the table. Basic manners.

If you have 10 mins for tea break, one sink, one Burco, one J cloth and 60 staff, then 1 minute doesn't hack it.

In my last school, there was a roster for the dishwasher. We were paired up and would have to load and empty the dishwasher for a week once a term. I didn't mind, I was glad some people had to tidy up for once!

Dishwasher duty would have been possible in our place when people had free classes and/or decent lunch hours - not any more. There is nothing wrong with a staff having someone to facilitate their having a 10 min break in their working day. What is it with teachers that they think they ought to have poor working conditions? And that if they don't scrimp and bow that they have the wrong attitude?

Sweet Rose

Pwpane wrote: »

If you have 10 mins for tea break, one sink, one Burco, one J cloth and 60 staff, then 1 minute doesn't hack it.

Dishwasher duty would have been possible in our place when people had free classes and/or decent lunch hours - not any more. There is nothing wrong with a staff having someone to facilitate their having a 10 min break in their working day. What is it with teachers that they think they ought to have poor working conditions? And that if they don't scrimp and bow that they have the wrong attitude?

Errr buy more J cloths then. Poor working conditions fair enough but I do not like eating my lunch in others people's filth either. Get a better system going in your school, like leave a few basins where people can leave their dirty cups or buy some antibacterial wipes or do something. There is nothing worse then having a nice lunch, sitting down at the table to see others people's crumbs, dirty delph and sticky tea stains left on the table. Yuck.

RainyDay

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

I would imagine it's that the SNA's are on duty with their students during break

Sweet Rose wrote: »

That's not what I meant. The SNAs had a separate lunch break to teachers. I think this is quite common as the SNAs had to accompany their assigned children during yard time.So literally the teachers would leave after their lunch break and the SNAs would come in. The staff room was always left in a tip. I felt sorry for the SNAs!

I had forgotten that important point, so thanks for clarifying. I can see how that would often be the case. But presumably, it wouldn't ALWAYS be the case. There are some students with SNAs who don't need SNAs around at break time. Indeed, the SNAs may be a barrier to social interaction for some students. I presume that in such cases the SNA will have their break with the teachers?

Lady_North1

RainyDay wrote: »

I had forgotten that important point, so thanks for clarifying. I can see how that would often be the case. But presumably, it wouldn't ALWAYS be the case. There are some students with SNAs who don't need SNAs around at break time. Indeed, the SNAs may be a barrier to social interaction for some students. I presume that in such cases the SNA will have their break with the teachers?

The SNAs role is to supervise the Sen child during breaks and on yard. I supervise from the classroom door, watching what's going on and ensuring the children are interacting with their peers. I also do yard every day, again watching from a distance.
We take our breaks before the teachers. A teacher loads the dishwasher in the morning, we empty it when we go for break. We load our own after break then teacher loads and turns on dishwasher. We unload again, when we go for lunch. Teacher loads again then cleaner comes and finishes off what needs doing. Sharing the job, within the staffroom, makes for a comfortable working environment. Nobody takes anyone else for granted and it works.