Admin staff - is your job like this?

[BuffaloCrumble]

Having a bit of a January back-to-school slump, and thinking of looking for another job. Before I do, I'm keen to know if the issues I have with my job are fairly typical, or if I'd find things easier elsewhere - I haven't worked in a school before so I don't know what's normal. I'm working at a small primary school in a school-secretary-plus-finance role. My main problem is just the sheer amount of stuff to do in the time available - I work five days but school hours only, and it's just me in the office. I'm trying to fit in all the finance and personnel, plus admissions, attendance, SIMS, site management, IT management, Head's PA type stuff, policy updates etc, alongside all the general crap of receptionist, emails, dealing with parents etc. On top of that, I'm feeling that frankly too much responsibility is expected of me - there is definitely an expectation that, as one of the 'core team', I put in extra hours at home as the SLT do - but as I'm paid term time only this seems a bit much! To cap it all, we're awaiting Ofsted probably in the next six months, which I'm absolutely bricking because I don't feel remotely ready. So, my question is - is this just a typical state school thing? Is everyone experiencing similar, and am I being naive to expect an easier time elsewhere?

How small a school is it? One form entry? If so you're doing too much and that is the equivalent of 2 full time positions.
Less than 100 pupils and it maybe is about right.
Either way, you need time away from phone and child interruptions to do the HR and financial side of the role correctly.
Need to be honest with HT. Also, HT should do own policies or delegate. ( but not to you.)
Good luck!

OP you sound like me . I work slightly longer hours than school hours tho.i feel exactly the same as you -not enough hours in the day. I do marketing as well ! I’m on less than minimum wage (when you calculate the holidays =wages ) I work from home and sometimes I stay late just to keep up with it all ! How many pupils are in your school ?

Most one form entry Primary schools (so approx 200 children) I know have 2 people in the office - one person focusing on finance, HR and Head's PA,
Then another who is 'front of house' and deals with parents, school dinners, registers, letters, trips etc. My school also has a trainee admin person, so three people.

You have a massive workload that I would think is unusual, and definitely very hard. Is it an LA school, or academy? Time for a serious chat with the Head, I'd say.

Your workload sounds much too high. We have less than 100 students but have two front of house staff.

What’s your job title?

I’m described as either a finance manager or an office manager, depending on which hat I’m wearing. LA school, has around 100 pupils depending on roll. Glad to hear I’m not being unreasonable, thanks. I really need to persuade the Head that we need more admin staff, but so difficult with budgets as they are - can barely pay for teachers. I could just cry thinking about the amount of work that I can’t ever get done, plus the weight of responsibility if I screw stuff up (which is fairly likely as I never have time to do it properly). Interesting about policies - is this a HT’s job in everyone else’s school? I always feel like if I bring up sometging that needs to be done, then I’m the one that ends up doing it. GDPR is the latest thing to land on my desk. Anyone got their head round that yet?

I work as a primary school secretary too, 250 pupils and it's just me and school principal. I do all of what you mentioned in your op, Inc finance, budgets, etc. There are days where I literally don't have time to pee!! 20 min lunch break and even then there's people looking for me. I don't do any extra work from home, if I can't get it done in work hours then it just has to wait, the principal is well aware of this and of how manically busy it can be. Having said all that I love it and can't imagine working anywhere else!

Blimey Marge, I don't know how you manage! I know what you mean about no time to pee, and I never take a lunch break at all. But I still don't know how I'd get the job done without a considerable amount of (often unpaid) overtime.

My school has about 240 pupils and there are 2 of us in the office but one only working mornings. Full timer is 40 weeks, half timer is 39 weeks.

Sounds to me like you need someone else part time.

Our school has about 320 plus 50+ in preschool nursery and there are 2 ladies in the office 9-4 officially although I know one usually goes in about 8.45 to start on the post/voicemail messages and the other quite often works a little past 4 to finish up (or wait till late parents turn up ). I don’t think they do a lot of HR/HT stuff though.

I worked at a very small school and the business manager there did everything on your list plus-
Care taker type jobs including gritting the playground etc.
An extra curricular club
Unlocked the loo on more than 1 occasion

And a million and one other things that was not part of her job description.

Unfortunately in most small schools everyone has to muck in and get on with it or else stuff does not get done. And due to budget constraints no-one gets what they truly deserve.

Know that feeling Bubblysqueak. I have had my arm down the loo on several occasions. Always glamorous, small school life!

If your job title is Business Manager and you are paid accordingly then it all sounds fine.The responsibilities you listed are not usually within an Administrator role.

That's the thing, mumofthemonsters - I don't have the job title or salary of a SBM (quite rightly, as I don't have the necessary qualifications or experience), but I'm basically doing the job of one. But I'm simultaneously doing the job of a receptionist etc.

In all the schools I’ve worked in there’s someone who gets in early and ‘does the phones’ so does teacher/pupil absence and registers, deals with parents/morning rush etc and then someone else who starts later but stays later and manages the tail end of the day- school clubs etc. That way the phones are manned from 7.45am-5pm and people have on-duty times to answer it. I worked in a school office for a year before doing my PGCE and there were four of us with discrete jobs and responsibilities (massive independent secondary school) but we all had ‘switchboard hours’ where we were expected to answer the outside line phones. Sounds impossible for you to ever get any work done, you must get interrupted constantly!

I work 4 days. My job sounds like yours. I only started few weeks ago and SIMS is a nightmare. 100 kids and a HT who is there 2.5 days a week.

Jeez.... love the school and kids but like you i need to be locked in a room where no one can find me.

Oh i do school dinner money too. Which is also a nightmare when little Tom leaves his money on my desk and there are about 4 Toms in school and doesn’t mention which yr he’s in. Them time wasted going round finding Tom😡. Ill get to dirtbit out but dont want to start changing too much ..... yet.

Oh i do school dinner money too. Which is also a nightmare when little Tom leaves his money on my desk and there are about 4 Toms in school and doesn’t mention which yr he’s in.

Great isn't it! No matter how often I remind parents that we need full name AND what the money in the envelope is for (meals, trip, club etc) I get back to my desk after a loo visit to piles of envelopes with one name (where we have several children with that name) or even just an envelope with nothing written on it! Then there are the parents that walk up to me when I am doing "meet and greet" at the gate and just give me a handful of money and expect it to be allocated correctly 15 minutes later after I've spoken to 20 parents and been handed 3 different piles of loose cash. They get all indignant when I ask them to go to the office where they can collect an envelope and pen....

I am going for an informal interview at an infant school today, for exactly this job! The job description is insanely long. So this thread is interesting. Any thoughts on good questions to ask the HT? I'm pretty good at multitasking, and enjoy being very busy, but obviously within limits.

That's sounds like far too much.

For comparison, I am an admin/headteacher's PA in a single form entry primary. I work in the office with a part time finance person, and there is a school business manager who does all admissions, policy updates, budgets etc.

I couldn't take on anymore than I do now, I struggle already with the amount of receptionist duties I have to do, the interruption to any other work is pretty much constant. Then there's the first aid, I get children coming in about once every half hour, more at lunchtime, with bumps, feeling sick, scraped knees, headache, nose bleed. I am actually considering leaving school admin as I can't cope with the fact I can never concentrate on any actual work.

How did it go firstaid? I really do like my job, but the constant interruptions is driving me insane. I know a lot of schools that are totally cashless. All payments are via school gateway which it fab i think. Not many parents use the gateway in my school😡.

It was good beesley. The headteacher seemed very friendly and smiley (different to my DCs head who terrifies me 😂). Two form intake infant school, but two full time admin staff. Mind you, the headteacher was cleaning the loo when I arrived, so looks like there might be quite a lot to do?
It would be an ideal job for many reasons, but I imagine they get lots of applications, so trying not to get too excited.

Well fingers crossed for you!

Introducing online payments has been one of my biggest achievements!! Worth every bloody penny. Most parents use it for everything now.

Firstaid, good luck with the job. Bit late now, but I would be trying to find out how much responsibility you're expected to take on. E.g. Is there an SBM who does higher level stuff, or is this down to you? If you're new to school admin, how much training and support would you have? One of the things I find hardest is that none of the bits of my job are actually beyond my ability, if I ever had the time to learn to do them properly. If I do end up staying, I would seriously be tempted to do like a month's unpaid overtime in the summer just to get the chance to clear my intray for once and set up proper systems for everything, so that I start with a clean state. If you're trying to learn to do everything from scratch with nobody to teach you and no time to learn it yourself, it's incredibly difficult.

Can i just ask, what do you do on teacher training days? Im yet to ask (will do today if the head is in). Im hoping i can go to school and enjoy the day with NO interruptions. I understand from the cook that my predecessor usually went in and cook went in to clean.