Any school administrators- interview help

[carryme]

Hi all,

I have an interview for a school administrator role tomorrow and was wondering if anyone had any tips?

It's an all day event 7 of us have been short listed, and there is a task to do before one to one interviews does anyone have any idea on what kind of task could be expected?

Also any end of interview questions that I could ask I always struggle with these ☺️

Thanks so much

I have worked in a similar role. I had to correct mistakes in a letter and also had to prioritise situations - I had 9 scenarios that I had to 1 order in priority and 2 who I should contact to deal with it.
I always ask what would a typical day look like.
Good luck!

Bang on about safeguarding- always no 1 priority. You could ask about their policies, where they can be found, how often they are reviewed.

There will be a safeguarding question (always refer to safeguarding lead and never promise to keep a secret).

The task will be a priority task.

Have a look on the school website and check out their newsletters and letters, you might be asked to write one.
Familiarise yourself with safeguarding and confidentiality.
You might be asked how you would deal with a complaint about a teacher
I've been a school admin for 15 years, the role is very much about being able to turn your hand to anything and be able to juggle lots of things at once. Make sure you are happy to muck in, you may be dealing with first aid, an angry parent or child whose had a toilet accident, or fixing a pair of broken glasses.
Good luck, it's a fun/rewarding job but can be hard work!

I went for a similar job recently, I had to type out a formal letter, answer 5 scenario questions and filter and sort details of a school trip in excel.
My advice is to take a few minutes at the beginning to have a clear read of instructions and then prioritise based on your strengths.
Memorise the name of the Safeguarding Lead and as for questions can ask why the vacancy, typical duties and what success looks like in the role.
Good luck!

Thank you so much, I do feel at a slight disadvantage as I haven't previously worked in a school environment, so I am a little worried about not know who to refer people to in certain situations.

Does anyone have any examples of a prioritising task just so I can try and work it out.

Again thank you for your responses they are really helpful

if a child comes to the office door then you deal with the child first, even if the phone is ringing and a parent is waiting to speak with you.
There'll be daily tasks to prioritise, a big fine is getting the registers done first and making sure each child is present and if they're not you know the reason why. Getting the dinner orders into the kitchen so they know how many to cook for is also important.
You'll probably be expected to learn/use a database (Sims in my experience). This holds all the information about the children and staff.

Make sure you've thought about having to call home for a child. Most parents worry when they get a call from school. First this I say is 'hello this is ...... school, there's nothing to worry about but blah blah'

I'm not sure if it makes a difference but it's for a large secondary school

I work primary but would think checking the registers is even more important in a secondary as children are making their own way to and from school.
I would also think there could be more finance involved in a secondary, there would
more school trips going on and other things like evening/weekend hall bookings.

Just a quick bump as I cannot sleep 🙄

I've worked in both secondary and primary. The basic principles of prioritisation remain the same. Anything about safeguarding is top. Then anything about the children. Then parent stuff, followed by things to do with outside contractors, general admin etc. I had to do an Excel task - basic sorting and filtering, plus calculations. I also had to write a letter to parents. As another poster said, keep talking about safeguarding in the interview! Good luck!

For an end of interview question ask about training if it has not already been discussed. You will need safeguarding training and you may need training on their IT systems. If you have any additional skills you could offer to the school - eg. Being good at a sport, speaking a foreign language, then mention this, as schools are keen for extra help. I'm a linguist and used to accompany school trips overseas, as well as running a craft club for the primary kids. In my experience schools like staff who are happy to get stuck in and help out with whatever needs doing.

Thank you all so much, especially the ones who mentioned excel I had an hours task on excel and was able to brush up a bit last night!

After the longest day ever I have got through to the face to face interview it's at 415pm so please send anymore tips and keep your fingers crossed for me!

Well done @carryme! Will keep everything crossed!

I always ask a few of the following;

What is the roles' biggest priority?
What sort of person would fit well into the team?
What would I have to do for them to see that I'd made a success of the role?
Can they take me through a typical day?
How would they like to manage the post holder?
What are the roles' targets or KPIs?
What systems do they use?
How is the team structured?
What does the interviewer enjoy about working there?

Remember that there is no shame in being nervous - it just means you care. If you need time to think about an answer, that's ok. Good luck!

Well done. Be genuine - take your time to answer the questions.

Good luck!