Office Administrator

ALL SAINTS; Horsham; On-site; GBP 19,000 - 23,000; Full time

Job summary

All Saints CE Primary School in North Horsham is seeking a full-time Office Administrator to join a small team. The role covers reception, general administrative support, and safeguarding compliance, reporting to the School Business Manager.

The successful candidate will ensure a welcoming environment for parents and visitors and help maintain efficient office operations. Key duties include handling enquiries, managing communications, updating records, safeguarding and data protection, and

Qualifications

• Experience in administrative tasks within an educational setting preferred.
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to manage confidential information and data protection requirements.
• Experience handling reception duties and visitor inquiries.

Responsibilities

• Provide a warm, welcoming first point of contact for parents, pupils and visitors.
• Answer telephone and face-to-face enquiries professionally and efficiently.
• Manage school post and messages, ensuring timely relay to colleagues.
• Maintain records and data using MIS, and support attendance monitoring.
• Support safeguarding procedures and visitor sign-in/information.
• Assist with organisation of events and meetings and administration of forms.

Skills

Carrying out administrative tasks

Face-to-face & telephone interactions

Working with children/young people

Team collaboration

Tools

Word processing

Spreadsheets

Presentation software

Job description

All Saints CE Primary School is a one form entry primary based in North Horsham. We are looking for a full time Office Administrator to join our small team.

Our vision is to nurture all children, who are valued as individuals, and equip them to be independent, resilient learners, allowing each and every child to thrive and flourish, reaching their fullest potential.

At All Saints, we embrace our diverse community and encourage everyone to be kind, curious and question the world around them. We give our children the fundamental skills they need to prepare for their lifelong journey of learning.

Our community at All Saints is grounded in our core values of respect, compassion, creativity and hope. We seek to inspire in all, a love of learning and a sense of belonging.

Purpose of the role

To be a warm, welcoming and approachable first point of contact for the school, acting as an ambassador for the school when meeting parents, pupils and other visitors, and providing a friendly, professional and helpful service.

To provide general administrative support to the school under the instruction of Senior Staff and to assist in the efficient running of the school office.

To contribute to the overall vision and ethos of the school, ensuring the best standards possible for pupils and staff.

To be aware of and support differences and to ensure equal opportunities for all.

This role reports directly to the School Business Manager.

Key Responsibilities

Reception

• Providing a warm welcome to all.
• Dealing with telephone and face to face enquiries in an efficient and professional manner.
• Ensuring that all messages are deal with in a timely and accurate fashion and, where relevant, relayed to colleagues promptly.
• Dealing with incoming and outgoing post.
• Maintaining the security and safeguarding of the school by controlling access and ensuring the completion of relevant procedures, i.e. signing in, checking identification, issuing passes and notifying visitors of safeguarding and safety procedures.
• Being alert to unknown individuals on the school premises and reporting any concerns in line with the school's procedures.
• Providing information and support to other staff members as required.
• Providing hospitality for visitors.
• Ensuring that all information is treated confidentially and to have absolute discretion at all times, complying with the school's data protection procedures.

Administrative

• Updating manual and computerised records/management information systems.
• Keeping records in accordance with the school's record retention schedule and data protection law, ensuring information security and confidentiality at all times.
• Monitoring and maintaining an accurate record of pupil attendance, producing reports as necessary.
• Monitoring the late arrival of pupils and contacting parents/carers to identify reasons for non-attendance, ensuring all safeguarding procedures are followed.
• Managing the school's email inbox, ensuring the school meets its expected response times and ensuring that emails are forwarded to the relevant staff member as necessary.
• Managing and organising completed forms from parents and carers- this may involve uploading information to the Management Information System, maintaining spreadsheets of pupil permissions and ensuring that staff are aware of these.
• Producing reports from the Management Information System under the direction of the School Business Manager.
• Liaising with the admissions team to complete the process of admitting new pupils into the school.
• Assisting with the organisation of school trips.
• Placing orders, checking goods and monitoring paperwork. Ensuring that stationery stock is monitored and kept at a reasonable level.
• Updating and distributing communication, which may include but is not limited to the school's website, social media, school noticeboards, newsletters and other communication with parents, colleagues and the community.
• Assisting the School Business Manager in marketing the school.
• Maintaining the school diary.
• Attending, participating and taking notes at meetings as required.
• Administering first aid to pupils with illness or injury and escalating any serious or ongoing issues to parents or healthcare professionals. Following correct reporting procedures for any incidents.
• Managing medicines effectively and safely following West Sussex guidelines.
• Undertaking general administrative duties such as photocopying, filing, emailing and completion of routine forms. Maintaining the operation of the printer and photocopier to ensure it is ready to use at all times, resolving any issues as necessary.
• Assisting with organising parents' evenings and other meetings and events, including the organisation of rooms and equipment and providing refreshments as required.

Other areas of responsibility

• Reading and following the relevant school policies.
• Undertaking training required to develop in the role.
• Ensuring all duties and responsibilities are undertaken in line with the school's health and safety policy.
• Contributing to the safety of children and young people and protecting them from harm.
• Undertaking any other reasonable duties as determined by the School Business Manager and the Headteacher.
• Visits to the school are actively encouraged.

For further information please telephone Mrs Jane Singerman, School Business Manager (01403 270460).

Safeguarding Statement

and West Sussex County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to an appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service check along with other relevant employment checks, including satisfactory references.

All Saints CE Primary is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects staff to share this commitment. A satisfactory enhanced DBS disclosure will be required for the successful applicant.

Training

• First aid training (or willingness to complete training)

Experience

• Carrying out administrative tasks
• Dealing with face-to-face and telephone interactions
• Working with children or young people
• Working and collaborating within a team

Skills and knowledge

• Good oral and written communications skills
• Ability to respond quickly and effectively to issues that arise
• Ability to plan, organise and prioritise to meet deadlines
• Ability to use own initiative and take action accordingly
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to use IT packages including word processing, spreadsheets and presentation software
• Ability to use relevant office equipment effectively
• Ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues
• Understanding of data protection and confidentiality
• Understanding of safeguarding

Personal qualities

• Commitment to promoting and supporting the Christian ethos and values of the school and getting the best outcomes for all pupils
• Commitment to acting with integrity, honesty, loyalty and fairness to safeguard the assets, financial probity and reputation of the school
• Ability to work under pressure and prioritise effectively
• Commitment to maintaining confidentiality at all times
• Commitment to safeguarding and equality
• Embracing change well
• Using initiative to deal with difficult situations effectively