Everyone loved their school ‘janny’, right?
While we all had teachers we liked and teachers we didn’t like, I haven’t heard anyone say they didn’t love their school janitor.
There’s a sort of mystique to the role. If a teacher takes the day off sick, a replacement is found. But how do you replace the ‘janny’?
And just what do these versatile, fix-all legends do all day? We collared a local janitor to find out.
Busy days for Dyce Primary School’s janitor
Colin Morrice has been a janitor for 12 years, the last six at Dyce Primary School.
Our scheduled chat had been delayed while Colin dealt with the snow that covered the north-east during the first fortnight of the new year.
With his shovel and grit bin finally back in storage, I asked Colin to describe his average day.
The first thing I learned was that when you drop your kids off at school, the janny has already been there for two hours.
“I start at 7am,” said Colin. “Fortunately I live within a mile of the school.
“You’ve two or three jobs to do first thing in the morning before you can open a school.
“You’ve got to make sure the gas is working, and that the boilers are working. That there’s nothing that can stop a school from opening.
“Then I check the exterior of the school – I always walk around it when I first arrive.
“The school is right in the heart of Dyce, and there’s public walkways through the school grounds which dog walkers use.
“Monday mornings can be my busiest morning, depending on how the local ‘wildlife’ has been on Friday, Saturday nights. There’s often a lot of glass to clear up.
“You’ve then got to check the building’s secure, no broken windows or break-ins or anything like that. So that all takes up the first hour, hour and a half of the day, depending on what you find.
“The breakfast club comes in at 8am so I’ve to be ready for that. You can’t have anyone in the building without the janitor being there.”
‘I’ve never had the same day twice’
He added: “With maintenance, if it’s something I can deal with myself, I will. Otherwise, we’ve got a team of plumbers, joiners, ironmongers and so on. I’ll just report the job and they’ll come out.
“There’s also deliveries to deal with, a lot of porterage.
“It’s hard actually to put into words everything we do every day.”
As is often the case with those who profess to love their job, Colin spoke about the variety of tasks.
“I’ve never had the same day twice. That’s what I love about this job. Every day is different.
“I’ll give you a perfect example from yesterday.
“The children were outside for their lunch. An older gentleman from the local community was struggling, breathless, carrying shopping which may have been too heavy for him.
“He didn’t collapse, but ended up having to sit down. The PSAs had gone out to check on him and make sure he was okay.
“We took him into the school – we’re not just a school but a community centre as well – and gave him some dinner and gave him a good hour and a half until he’d got his breath back.
“We found out that he had Type 2 diabetes and hadn’t been eating properly.
“So that was different. But it’s a community school, everything and anything can and will happen.”
I asked Colin if he ever finds himself doing anything people might not expect a school janitor to do.
Turns out he’s not just a dab hand with a screwdriver and brush, but also with an apron and wooden spoon. For one day a year, anyway.
“Every Christmas I take a half day to help the kitchen staff when it’s the children’s Christmas dinner.
“My daughter and I have done this every year since I started at Dyce. I don’t mind mucking in.”
Teachers often have to put up with jibes over their ‘long holidays’, but don’t ever say that to a ‘janny’.
“It’s a year-round job.
“Obviously I’ve been busy recently with the snow and having to clear all the paths so people can get into the school.
“But we’re just as busy in the summer because we’re then doing the grounds work, making sure there’s no weeds, and that the paths are clear of debris.
“Dyce is quite a big school, and grounds work is probably the biggest part of your day.
“There’s the windows to clean, just anything – grounds work is made up of so many things.
“I do a lot when the kids are on holiday, all those big maintenance jobs.”
The best part of being a janny
Colin didn’t have to think long when asked what the best part of being a school janitor is.
“The kids, 100%. They’re brilliant, I’ve got a good rapport with them. I like having banter with them, playing football with them.
“I’m a father myself, so I can relate to the kids. You become their pal, it’s good fun.
“My happy place is the nursery. If I’m having a rough day, I often just go up and sit with the kids and draw with them, colour in with them. They’re just fun to be around.”
He added: “It’s just a fun, great place to work, and I have a good relationship with the teaching staff as well.”
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