School Secretaries/Admins/Bursars - come hither

[TheIncidentalGoat]

Is there a support thread for us admin types anywhere? If not come say hello and share your new term woes (or otherwise)

I'm school sec in an inner city primary, with all that entails. We've been back week and already I'm approaching the end of my rope.

Parents getting arsey are doing my head in. What's happened to them all. The language we've had to put up with in last few days is outrageous. We've had pissed parents, pot smelling parents, angry shouty swearing parents in 1 week. And we have to just smile and nod. God it's been difficult!!!
On a totally different point can I ask what others do about staff signing in/out. It struck me today that all visitors etc sign in/out but staff don't, if we have a fire (or even a drill) at lunchtime we wouldn't know who was on site. Or who'd gone to tesco for their lunch! Obviously this is bad, and I've been looking at iPad apps that can be downloaded and update using gps or you can just swipe in. Anyone got a good system?

We have two boards, just past our security doors, where staff swipe their name across when come and go. When we have an emergency evacuation we take the boards off the wall the take them outside. It's cumbersome! I dream of working in a school where staff use their id badges to swipe in, or even fingerprinting.

Well hazel. I'd have said the same but I went to our head with details of the inventry system and he's kean, so a local high and primary have it and we're going to have a look at it in situ!!

We use an old fashioned signing in sheet.

Do any of you use SIMs in the classroom for teachers to register the children directly? We still use the blue registers. We're techy in lots of ways - ipads in class, digital notice boards etc but pupil (and staff) registration seem to be lagging behind the times.

Receptionist still off sick.

We use SIMS for registration mornings and afternoons. It seems to work well and I know the Headmistress (and others) like that they can easily see attendance records as part of the student profile on sims. Can't tell you more than that though!

My IT Manager went to BETT last week and there is an extremely cool sign in/out system thingy called Inventry. I am looking into it - our rule is that everyone signs out when they leave the school premises - but it sure isn't foolproof.

My IT Manager went to BETT last week and there is an extremely cool sign in/out system thingy called Inventry. I am looking into it - our rule is that everyone signs out when they leave the school premises - but it sure isn't foolproof.

oops

Inventry is the thing we are going to look at next week. It looks v impressive.

The thought of letting teachers do attendance on sims scares me silly. The mistakes they make now are at least corrected by me before they get on sims. How many kids would get code u instead of o or L and not u. I understand they assume U = unauthorised but it doesn't no matter how many times I tell them they still have whole days U.

Now it just starts get busier and busier doesn't it?

That's what worries me aunt. Our staff aren't allowed to code at all just red circle and I do the rest.

Hearts - what do you do in case of fire? Do you just head count the pupils?

We do morning and afternoon registration and have a late book for anyone after 9.30 and an authorised absence book for kids going home sick or to appointments. These plus the visitors book and registers
are taken out in a fire drill. Teachers check register and if anyone missing check absence book. We check all visitors are accounted for. My biggest worry is lunch time we have a huge supermarket over the road and staff nip out for butties or even to eat and no one knows at present who is on site. Am going to get this sorted by Easter that's my aim.
goat whats red circle?

That's what we do aunt; I wondered what schools that register directly to SIMs in the classroom and don't have a paperbased record do. Printing one off everyday in case of evacuation seems a waste tbh and defeats the object of getting rid of the class register. Especially as you say, the staff can't really be trusted.

Red circle - sorry - the staff just mark the absent ones with a circle in the paper register and myself or the receptionist code them when we key them on.

InVentry looks good.

How's the year-end budget looking?

Hi - as a supply teacher, most of the schools I go have SIMS, and the teacher (inc supply teachers) are expected to do the class register within 10 mins of the start of the lesson. - very easy log on just tick all those who are there, and log latecomers with minutes late.
Re evacuation for fire ( which did happen to me a few weeks a go - a real fire!) I personally always count the DC and jot the number down, so when we get outside, quick count of the class. ( Learned this practice form a primary I worked at for a few days where this was compulsory)

Ours don't use SIMS and when there's a fire drill we take the dinner registers out because the attendance sheet is a joke pupil signing out sheet, visitors book and staff signing in/out sheet although the same culprits don't sign in/leave through their classroom doors.

Year end's going ok with plenty of credit left on a couple of lines so I'm going to request a couple of 15/16 invoices early to reduce the c/f. Its my 3rd time round now so better prepared but no chance of closing the order book at half term. I did notice some summer invoices haven't been taken from our budget but not had any red bills/reminders so Finance are trying to find out who they've been charged to! The governors didn't agree to chequebook status but I won the battle to stay on FMS rather than go on the LAs crap agresso system.

I'm on the look out for a new easier job but we're spoilt with LA t&cs/pension

Wow I thought everyone used sims for attendance. What's the reason for not using it skinny

Sorry Aunt, we do use SIMS but they won't use the attendance module even though I've show them how easy it is!

We have SIMS in the classroom, but the teachers only use it for registration and dinners. Teachers are only supposed to code '/' or 'N'.
Any children coming in late or leaving early have to be signed in at the office. In the event of a fire we take the signing in book out with us. The teachers are supposed to take a head count each day and put it on a post it on the whiteboard (I'm not sure if the all do it).
We could easily print a report each morning when the registers close.

The teachers enter the appropriate code in SIMS at registration time (8.40) then at 9am the school secretary checks all the registers (she must run a report) and in conjunction with our school nurse contacts any families of absentees as required. This happens in the afternoon too. The secretary then prints an attendance list (or it might be an absence list) for that session (morning or afternoon). When we have a fire drill (or god forbid a real fire) or any other kind of emergency, the school office is responsible for bringing the list, the sign out book, the crisis management plan and the class lists and all that kind of bumpf.

We are a very small school though, with small classes, so the teachers and assistants know very easily and quickly if one of their girls is missing and after a kidnapping threat a few years ago we are shit hot on security

Can I just pop in to say "thank Christ it's HALF TERM"

Oh hello I've just found this thread. I'm a bursar studying for my csbm, lovely to meet some fellow school office folk.

Officially counting the minutes until school finishes this afternoon - this has been a short half term but it's felt longer than ever!

I am SO glad it's half term. People keep asking me what I'm doing in the break, but the answer is (happily) nothing. Just no alarm clock.

Good luck with the CSBM Ophelia. They were happy days.

Can I just echo exactly what auntpetunia said! all round!

Wine here too.

Receptionist still off sick Just looking back over the thread and lol at notsoskinny being envious at our staffing levels. Receptionist barely been in work since then.

I'm at everyone who's off this week, roll on 4pm Wednesday

Happy holiday notsoskinny