Administrator

Ridgefield Primary School; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

Ridgefield Primary School is seeking a friendly, professional Office Receptionist to join the school office team in Cambridge. You will work closely with the Office Manager and School Business Manager to ensure the office runs smoothly and that children, families, staff and visitors receive a welcoming and efficient service.

The role involves front-of-house duties, attendance monitoring, routine finance administration and general office support.

Qualifications

• ],

Responsibilities

• Provide welcoming, professional reception to pupils, parents, visitors and professionals.
• Answer the telephone and direct information to the appropriate person.
• Monitor daily pupil attendance and follow up unexplained absences.
• Prepare routine letters, forms and reports.
• Provide general office support, filing, post, and event coordination.
• Use Microsoft Office and school information systems.

Skills

Communication

Customer service

Organisation

Attention to detail

Calm under pressure

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Teams

Job description

Working as part of our school office team, you will provide day-to-day administrative and reception support to the Office Manager and School Business Manager, helping to ensure that the office runs smoothly and that children, families, staff and visitors receive a welcoming and efficient service.

This is a varied, hands-on role at the heart of school life. You will often be the first person that children, parents, visitors and professionals meet when they come into school, so we are looking for someone who is approachable, confident and an excellent communicator, with the ability to remain calm and organised when the office gets busy.

Your work will include front-of-house duties, daily attendance monitoring, administration and general office support, alongside some routine finance administration. You will need to be comfortable using Microsoft Office and learning the school's administrative and information management systems.

About the role

Working closely with the Office Manager, School Business Manager and wider school team, your responsibilities will include:

• Providing a welcoming, professional and friendly reception service to pupils, parents, carers, visitors and professionals.
• Answering the telephone, responding to enquiries, taking accurate messages and directing information to the appropriate person.
• Welcoming visitors, following school safeguarding and visitor procedures, and maintaining appropriate visitor records.
• Communicating confidently and sensitively with parents and carers, responding to routine queries and passing on more complex matters when appropriate.
• Monitoring daily pupil attendance, following up unexplained absences and ensuring attendance records are accurate and up to date.
• Preparing routine letters, correspondence, forms, reports and other administrative documents.
• Providing general office support, including filing, managing post, maintaining records and helping with the organisation of meetings, trips and school events.
• Using Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, and learning to use the school's other software and information management systems.
• Assisting with routine finance administration, such as processing information, maintaining records and supporting the School Business Manager with straightforward administrative tasks.
• Handling confidential and sensitive information appropriately and in accordance with school procedures.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues to support the effective day-to-day running of the school.
• Undertaking other appropriate administrative duties consistent with the role.

About you

We are looking for someone who is:

• Friendly, approachable and professional, with a genuine desire to make people feel welcome.
• A confident communicator with good spoken English and the ability to communicate clearly and professionally with children, parents, colleagues and visitors.
• Highly organised, with excellent attention to detail and the ability to maintain accurate records.
• Comfortable managing competing priorities and remaining calm when faced with unexpected situations.
• Confident using Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams.
• Comfortable learning and using different software packages and information management systems.
• Numerate and confident undertaking straightforward administrative tasks involving figures and financial information.
• Able to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion.
• Reliable, flexible and able to work independently within agreed procedures as well as contributing positively to a team.
• Proactive, willing to use initiative and able to recognise when a query or concern needs to be referred to a senior colleague.
• Committed to providing a high-quality service to children, families and colleagues.
• Committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Previous experience in an administrative or customer-facing role would be desirable. Experience of working in a school office, using school information systems, would be an advantage, but is not essential.

We are looking for someone with the right attitude, communication skills and attention to detail who is keen to learn, takes pride in their work and enjoys being part of a busy school team.

What we can offer

At Ridgefield Primary School, you will be joining a supportive and friendly team where your contribution really matters.

We can offer:

• A welcoming school community where children are at the heart of what we do.
• A varied role where no two days are quite the same.
• The opportunity to develop your administrative, IT and school-based skills.
• Support and training to help you become confident in our systems and processes.
• The opportunity to work alongside experienced and supportive colleagues.
• A role where you will make a genuine difference to the experience of our children and families.

At Ridgefield Primary School we welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations. As part of our safer recruitment process, the school will undertake all appropriate pre-employment, safeguarding, online and background checks for shortlisted candidates and successful applicants, in accordance with statutory requirements, Keeping Children Safe in Education and the school's recruitment procedures.

Closing date: 12.00 pm 21 October 2026

Interviews: 6 November 2026

Start date: ASAP