School & Nursery Administrator / Receptionist

Waverley Preparatory School and Nursery; Wokingham; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 25,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salaries based on experience

6.2 weeks holiday per annum

School lunch provided

On-site parking

5 days off at Christmas

Job summary

Waverley Preparatory School and Nursery is seeking a proactive Reception and Administration Assistant to provide a warm, professional first impression and efficient support for both the school and nursery. You will manage front-of-house queries, maintain records, and assist with nursery administration and daily operations.

The role requires excellent communication, IT skills (MS Word/Excel/Outlook), discretion, and the ability to stay calm under pressure.

Qualifications

• Excellent interpersonal and people skills with a warm, affable and approachable manner.
• Previous extensive administrative or reception experience, ideally in a school or nursery environment (minimum 12 months).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Customer focused and able to provide a professional telephone manner.
• Confident IT skills, particularly Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Ability to remain calm, professional and organised under pressure.
• High level of discretion and understanding of confidentiality.
• Excellent attention to detail with accuracy and timeliness.
• Ability to prioritise tasks, manage workload and meet deadlines.
• Flexible, proactive and collaborative team member.

Responsibilities

• Be the first point of contact at the office, welcoming visitors, pupils and parents.
• Manage reception area, ensuring it is tidy and presentable.
• Handle in-person, telephone and email queries for the school and nursery.
• Pass on messages promptly and accurately to staff.
• Check visitor credentials, issue passes and supervise pupil arrivals and departures.
• Support nursery administration tasks such as bookings, ordering milk and nursery POs.
• Update school and nursery databases and manage daily registers.
• Receive deliveries and distribute items around the school.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Customer focus

Telephone manner

Attention to detail

Discretion

Organisational skills

Team player

Proactive problem solving

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Outlook

Job description

Reception

• To be the first point of contact at the office, providing a warm, welcoming and professional reception service, ensuring visitors, pupils and parents receive a positive first impression of Waverley.
• To be highly presentable at all times and ensure the reception area and front office are kept clean, tidy and organised.
• To manage all in-person, telephone, and email queries for both the school and nursery, dealing with enquiries where appropriate or accurately distributing to the wider staff team.
• To actively listen and communicate confidently and clearly, providing accurate information and taking and passing on messages promptly.
• To maintain discretion and confidentiality.
• To check credentials of visitors, issue visitor passes and manage children arriving and leaving via the office.
• To respond to practical requests from pupils, parents and staff, including delivering items or messages to classrooms, offices and other areas of the school.
• To locate pupils who are being collected, and accompany or direct pupils to the appropriate areas.

Administration

• To provide administrative support to other members of staff.
• To specifically provide nursery administration, including (but not limited to) booking in ad-hoc sessions, ordering milk, submitting numbers and dietary requirements to the kitchen, submitting nursery POs and arranging orders.
• To update the school and nursery databases when required, ensuring information is accurate and up to date.
• To undertake the daily registers for the whole school, following up on any unexplained absences as required.
• To receive deliveries arriving at the school and nursery and distribute smaller deliveries and packages to the relevant departments around the school where appropriate.

General

• To contribute positively to the smooth running of the school and nursery office and support colleagues as required.
• To maintain a calm, helpful and professional manner when dealing with challenging situations.

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal and people skills, with a warm, affable and approachable manner.
• Previous extensive administrative or reception experience, ideally in a school or nursery environment (minimum 12 months).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Customer focused.
• Confident and professional telephone manner.
• Confident IT skills, particularly Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Ability to remain calm, professional and organised under pressure.
• High level of discretion and understanding of the importance of confidentiality.
• Excellent attention to detail, with a high degree of accuracy and timeliness.
• Ability to prioritise tasks, manage own workload and meet deadlines.
• Flexible and willing to support colleagues and contribute positively as part of a team.
• A proactive, practical and helpful approach to resolving day-to-day queries and problems.

Desirable

• Familiarity with school and nursery administration systems and pupil databases.
• An understanding of safeguarding and the importance of maintaining a secure school environment., Waverley School and Nursery is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including an online search, checks with current and previous employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

You must have the Right to Work in the UK., Candidates with experience or relevant job titles of; School Admin Assistant, Administrative Officer, Office Administrator, Administration Clerk, General Administration, Office Assistant, Reception Administrator, Secretary, Support Administrator may also be considered for this role.

Benefits

• Generous, competitive salary based on experience.
• 6.2 weeks holiday per annum inclusive of bank holidays (up to 2 weeks can be taken during term time)
• 5 days off at Christmas
• School lunch provided
• On-site parking