Any school secretaries or school office staff out there?

[MaureenMLove]

I probably shouldn't put it in this section, since I'm a childminder atm, so not strictly speaking going back to work!

Does anyone know or can you tell me, what sort of qualifications or expirence schools expect for their office staff these days?

I'm thinking ahead, maybe 6mths to year, and thought it might be a good idea to get up-to-date with IT, since I've been out of it for 10 years!

Thanks

Anyone got any ideas?

Are there absolutely NO school secretaries or school office staff on here, at all?

I work in a school office. It depends what you want to do there?

Hurrah! Well, I've got secretarial skills, but only from my life before kids! (about 10 years) So I was wondering what sort of skills you need really. All the ads I've seen so far, seem to want you to have some knowledge of finance. I thought maybe there was a particular finance program that I should know about.

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

Thats interesting, I know a couple of Governors at different schools, so I'll have a word. Thanks.

That sounds like work in the Bursar's office, dealing with payroll and so on. You certainly don't need financial knowledge for all jobs in school admin.

I work in a specialist school but what I needed most to get the job was good organisational skills. How is your IT?

I work in a school office - previous experience was banking and admin in voluntary sector. Most jobs ask for SIMs experience (schools database information management). Problem is you can't get experience unless you work in a school. I didn't have it although it was essential for my post and I picked it up quite easily.

Do you have time to volunteer in a school for maybe an afternoon a week. You'll usually end up doing the photocopying but it's a foot in the door. Pay is crap - holidays are good

Well I can MN, does that count! No, I can find my way round Windows and internet well enough. All self taught over the years though, so I might just do a refresher course or something.

SIMS, thats what I'd heard of! I could do some voluntering actually. I do childmind atm, but I don't have children until after school 2 days a week. If only my mum hadn't retired 3 years ago - she was a Head Teacher!

If you want to be a bursar, you will be dealing with finances & I think most schools now would want either qualifications, training or experience.
In lots of smaller schools the bursar/secretary jobs are combined, but in some, and in larger schools, there will be separate posts.

In the junior school I work at (220 pupils, including a resource unit for children with ASD) we have the bursar, the secretary/receptionist (4 days a week) and someone who spends half their time as a TA & half as an admin assistant. Then there's me - I'm officially the 'ICT Support Manager', but I spend one day a week in the office, on the secretary's day off.

We all have reasonable or better IT skills - the main software we use, apart from the Office applications is SIMS which takes a bit of getting used to....

I can't be sure - because my school is so small that it's difficult to generalise - but I think that it is not really essential to have lots of courses, more important that you can demonstrate lots of 'transferable skills'. I'm involved with some recruitment and what we've looked for before anything else is someone who is presentable and can hold their own on the phone. This is mainly because we're such a small office that everyone has to answer the phone or greet visitors at some point.

Oh, yes, if you want to be a bursar that's quite a different thing. More demanding altogether.

So if I was to sell myself as someone with typing skills (with qualifications), basic - intermediate IT skills, previous office expirence, worked for international advertising agency, so lots of phone work and working alone, thats not a bad start. Oh and no major childcare issues, as dd will teenager by the time I ready to work again.

That sounds great. It's the same as loads of office jobs - all about the kind of person that the people already there want to work with. If they can never get hold of the IT person then having IT on your CV helps, but zero IT might not matter if they're short of first aiders and you're already trained, but then again they might have someone who's rubbish at getting to work on time and your reference suggests how punctual you are so then that gives extra points, etc, etc.

I love working where I do (though on mat leave atm) and would really recommend it. Tho I don't actually get school holidays, but it sounds like the pay reflects that.

Thanks for your help, certainly food for thought. Must remember to put paed first aid on the CV too!

The first aid thing is a bonus everywhere, I'm told.

Go for it! I hope you get what you want.

Clerk to governors, definitely. My DM has just started doing it - it is paid (poorly, but paid), you get the inside track and if you are lucky you get to meet your counterparts in other schools and would therefore find out about any admin jobs going.