how do you procure bits and bobs?

Ok here's my next query/quandary. What do you do if your school is out of the way ie not near the supermarket and you need something which is not available from Timstar or Scichem etc like spaghetti and mini-marshmallows?

I have to get it on my way home and bring it in the next day but that is also because I am unable to drive.

Do you get to claim for your time?????

I have never thought about it but they would probably let me as I have been told before I don't need to do anything past my hours when I have stayed back to get something finished as I am the only technician.

Would your department let you finish early on the understanding you are going early to buy equipment items you can't get from educational suppliers?

One school I was an agency technician (really don't ask!) at got around it by telling the member of staff if you need it you are going to have to bring it and claim the petty cash back or if they wanted the technicians to get it they had to request it a little while in advance.

It's a lot of hassle if you have to put a request in for the money first isn't it? I think it's quite reasonable to expect to be able to leave earlier in the day to purchase the necessary things.

I had to laugh when I saw your post c.ashworth, when you said the school said you were 'only the technician'! I hope they didn't put it like that!

Oh dear I must have typed that badly again like I did in my posting about ASE membership I certainly didn't mean they say I am only a technician I meant there is only one technician in our science department in fact there are only three technicians in the whole school one for DT, one for ICT and myself.

I am forever getting told not to work over my contracted hours

c.ashworth wrote:Oh dear I must have typed that badly again like I did in my posting about ASE membership I certainly didn't mean they say I am only a technician I meant there is only one technician in our science department in fact there are only three technicians in the whole school one for DT, one for ICT and myself.

I am forever getting told not to work over my contracted hours

No, not at all, you didn't type it badly - it's me who can't read. Sorry!

Yes, the meetings between technicians from different schools have died/are dying a death it would seem. It's a shame as they were a really valuable opportunity for sharing good practice and keeping up to date with developments. At least we have this forum now and as more technicians hear about it, it should be a valuable platform for networking/sharing ideas.

Do you at least get to meet with the DT and ICT technician at all, to share experiences/discuss level of service provision/support one another,etc?

Hi, as the only technician with a car I have the honour of picking up the shopping.
I ask that all requisition sheets are in on Thursday for the following week, I then go shopping (if necessary ) on the Friday during school time unless it is something like milk that has to be fresh, in which case I would pick it up on my way to school on the morning of the experiment.
If a member of staff wants something and has not put requisition in on time and I don’t have to pick something up that has been ordered it’s up to the member of staff to bring it in.
I gave the Science staff a policy for technical service outlining what the teachers could expect from technicians and what we as technicians expect from teaching staff.
The policy outlined expectations such as requesting a practical experiment, timing of requests, and delivery of resources to Laboratories etc..
The policy has to be agreed by the head of department to give it any credence but then everyone knows where they stand.

Maggie wrote:Yes, the meetings between technicians from different schools have died/are dying a death it would seem. It's a shame as they were a really valuable opportunity for sharing good practice and keeping up to date with developments.

Hi, yes it’s a shame we used to have meetings with other schools in our LA but since we no longer have science advisers no one in our LA seems want to front the technician’s network anymore.
Even our local Science learning centre don't seem to be able to offer much, they say they have a technician’s network but the last email I received from the chair was to say they are no longer the chair and would let me know when they found out who was now in charge.
This site wants to set up a technician’s network with regional meetings but I guess this takes time.

Sadly we don't really have time to sit down and talk at all. I am mad busy in one part of the school and rarely make it into the rest of the school, the same for the DT technician and the ITC technician works for RM so often has to go off and work on other sites.

Another site with a good tecnicians forum is preproom.org I'm trying to find as many as possible as having a sounding board and being able to help others is always great.

We maintain our own petty cash. 2 technicians go home lunchtimes and if we want any shopping, they will leave a few minutes early and call in the supermarket/shops. If any items can wait for the weekend, we buy them with our household shopping. We don't claim for time outside our normal hours or for any mileage involved.

If teachers want an unusual item we ask them to buy it themselves (this usually results in blank stares).

In the past I have always done this but as this sometimes would come to about £30 and I had to pay and then claim it back I refused and told staff they had to get it themselves. At first they did a lot of grumbling but now it is standard and they just get what I tell them they need .

We've developed a system of ordering almost everything for delivery even food etc. from Tescos. The few bits and bobs that we can't get delivered or are last minute requests then one of us will drive into town to buy during the working day and either use petty cash (which we're not supposed to have) or put in a claim.

I usually get most bits n bobs over the weekend when I do my usual shopping after all the teachers have handed in requests. We might have to pop out during the week but we do have shops close to the school.

Rachel Rawson wrote:We've developed a system of ordering almost everything for delivery even food etc. from Tescos. The few bits and bobs that we can't get delivered or are last minute requests then one of us will drive into town to buy during the working day.....

That sounds efficient. Is it a whole school Tesco order, with other subjects like Food Technology, that would keep delivery costs to a minimum?

Barkie wrote:I usually get most bits n bobs over the weekend when I do my usual shopping after all the teachers have handed in requests. We might have to pop out during the week but we do have shops close to the school.

Hi Barkie. Do you not find though that sometimes it might take you ages to find some of the more peculiar requests? And you might have to go to a few places before you find them?