School Secretary Salary-is this normal?

[Inspiralcarpetry]

Would anyone mind sharing their hourly rate with me please if they work as a School Secretary/School Office? I'm a School Secretary in a medium sized independent primary and earn £9.99 an hour on a term time contract. Not had a pay rise in 7yrs, no sick pay, no additional pension offer.
I do the usual SIMS, phone/emails, customer service, admin support to Head and teachers, first aid etc. I was a solicitor prior to having DC and I therefore also draw up employment contracts and write policies for school as needed.
I'm just wondering if this hourly rate is 'the going rate' for the job, or if it is low? I'd be so grateful if anyone minds giving me a comparison-in state or independent primary?
Many thanks indeed anyone who replies

You have to factor in the extra admin you do. To be honest I think you are underpaid. Can you find out what your local authority pays? Try your local council vacancy pages on their website. Look at school administrator rates rather than secretary/clerical. This will be a better indicator for your area, rather than a UK wide rate. I work in a state school office & going on your description I personally think you should be on a minimum of £11.50 p/h with sick pay & some sort of pension.

Thanks for replying. I suspected I was low paid, although when I started 7yrs ago, I don't think I was iyswim.
I'll have a look as you suggest, thanks.
It's a nice job, with great colleagues, in a lovely school-plus it suits my family life. But I'm starting to feel undervalued!
Thanks again

I get £11.28 an hour for a similar school administration role - which covers the same areas (eg policies, HR admin bits). Its a LA school so we buy a HR service to give advice and do payroll from the LA. They also contribute something between 6-13% to a pension on top of my contribution (it depends on where in the band you are) and i get sick pay. I also get £14.50 an hour for clerking at a different school so minutes, recruitment and compliance as it has more responsibility.
So i think you are underpaid.

I've just started as a school sec and my hourly rate is £9.96. I'd say you're definitely underpaid.

I think that’s too low for writing contracts and doing HR, possibly about right for general/basic administration. I would have a look out for similar jobs that you could then use to demonstrate that you are being paid under the going rate.

Thanks both, really interesting info. Much appreciated.

I’d argue that you were more of a Business Manager-is that fair, do you think? Could you argue for a pay rise on that basis?

You are acting more as a 'Burser' than school secretary so yes I would say you are definitively being underpaid, especially when you're not receiving a pension or sick pay. In fact is the former even legal these days?
However I doubt whether you will be able to negotiate a higher rate - in my experience once you have started fulfilling extended aspects of the role, employers have you over a barrel. I would suggest it's time to polish up the CV and get applying for a new job.

To give you an RL example, 15 years ago I was being paid £10 as a pre-school admin and I didn't do payroll or HR. Didn't get a pension but was entitled to sick pay.

In my office there’s myself (School Secretary), the Head’s PA and the Registrar. The Head’s PA sorts HR stuff out alongside the Bursar.

Looking at your pay, you are underpaid as an Independent School Secretary. I’m on about £15 an hour. SIMS, School communication system, weekly newsletter to parents, website, trips. I don’t do first aid as we have matrons to do that.

Huge thanks to all who have replied. To be fair, I can't say I do the job of a Business Manager. We have one and he manages utilities, cashflow, admin and cleaning staff.
So much over the years has been based on my goodwill, you're right, it is impossible to start withdrawing services you've been giving and there's no negotiating power financially!
Thanks again, the replies are extremely interesting.

I think you're underpaid. £10.50 seems normal for admin jobs. I'm on £13.20 which I think is well paid for admin.

I would suggest letting your head know (as a courtesy as is common in education) that you're looking around for a better paid job and see if they can come up with anything. If you don't ask, you don't get, unfortunately.

Very true
Think I need to put my brave pants on and try and negotiate a little more by pointing out all the 'add ons' I do. If not, it might be worth looking elsewhere. Thank you.

Have a look for local vacancies that are paying more and say to your head you do love it here (if you do!) and can they do anything to keep you. Experience is worth a lot to keep the place running smoothly.

Couple of school admin jobs advertising presently to compare with
Blackledge, HX1
£8.21 - £9.00 per hour.
NN2, Northampton
Up to £9.50 per hour
NR7, Norwich
From £8.60 to £8.97 per hour.
N19, North London
£12 per hour

I would be asking if they felt my work was not completed to a high standard if there had been no pay rise for 7 years?

Nobody has had a pay rise in 7yrs, except cleaning and kitchen staff who receive an annual rise in line with minimum wage. Apparently this is because there is never any spare money...
We are an independent fee paying school so no way of verifying that but I suspect it might be true.
Thanks Cabbageking-see, those salaries seem low, but experience and additional duties, based on other replies, should suggest the true value of the job is maybe more in the £11 plus mark.
Thank you all!

They're taking the mickey I think. I bet the fees have gone up over 7 years. If they can't pay you a decent wage, look around. Once you've got experience in school admin jobs there are plenty available. Good luck!

We are a state funded academy. Our office staff earn £18,000 a year, work term time only (plus five days) 8 until 4 and receive sick pay and a pension. Our business manager earns a lot more x

Yes, the school fees DEFINITELY have gone up annually!!
I really appreciate all advice and comments given and have taken notice of everything x