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- Provide administrative support in schools
- You'll need customer service and organisational skills
- Progress to school business manager
As a school secretary you could work in a state or private school.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Being the main contact for parents, governors and pupils
- Greeting visitors and providing refreshments
- Using IT systems to run financial reports and produce newsletters
- Keeping paper and electronic records up to date
- Using reprographic equipment
- Ordering resources
- Paying invoices and banking cash
- In some schools you may be the first aider for pupils
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You'll usually work during term time (40 weeks a year) or all year round. Part-time jobs are also common. You may need to work occasional evenings for parents' events or school productions. You'll usually be based in an office with an opening window into the reception area.
You'll need
This role would be ideal for someone with good customer service and organisational skills, an excellent telephone manner, administrative skills and IT and finance skills.
You could apply directly to become a school secretary. Employers would expect you to have a good standard of general education and experience of office work.
You should be able to use common office software including spreadsheets. Knowledge of accounts packages would also be helpful, although employers may provide training in some of these.
You could complete a college course to get some of the skills needed for this job such as, Level 2 Award in Support Work in Schools and Level 3 Diploma in Business Administration.
You could also start as an admin assistant in a larger school and work your way up to a post with more responsibility.
Alternatively you can get into this job through a business administrator advanced apprenticeship or a school business professional higher apprenticeship.
You'll need to pass enhanced background checks for this role.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could progress to school business manager, or personal assistant (PA) to the headteacher.