School office admin job interview!

[AXCS]

Hi

I have an interview tomorrow at a school for an admin post.

I got an email Friday that it’s a short interview and handwritten in tray task.

Do I need to take anything with me apart from ID? Should I take my certificates?

Also the email said they’ve stated sorry for the delay in response, they’ve started the interview process and would like to invite me to interview on Tuesday (the next working day). Do you think the interviews they did didn’t go well last week and I have a chance?? Or is this the norm in a school office and they stagger interviews and invites?

thanks!!

Can be normal in a school. Be positive, take your certificates just in case they want to copy them whilst there and good luck x

Thank you 😊

Photo ID, a bill with your address on and any certificates for qualifications they would consider relevant to the job. There will be lots more they need if you’re appointed.

Agree that in schools it can feel like a very quick turnaround during interview processes so don’t worry about the last minute notice. Read up on safeguarding and KCSIE and good luck!

Good luck for your interview.

I work in a school, please take all your documents which have been requested.

Keep calm, be inquisitive and read up on safeguarding.

You may find the task is writing a letter or a priority task list - just think children's safety first.

Thank you! Any ideas what financial
questions I could be asked?

Job description says ‘ be primarily responsible for undertaking all duties relating to dinner money and school funds’ and spec refers to ‘Financial awareness and ability to implement sound financial working practices’

what kind of questions should I prepare for?

It depends on their set up.
In my school we have a pupil database and a separate finance system.

Lunches are input on the pupil database and parents get charged for lunches via the finance system. You'll need to be aware of anyone who hasn't paid to ensure a debt doesn't creep up.

You'll also need to be aware of who is entitled to free school meals and who pays. Children in years R-2 are all entitled to free school meals for instance under universal free school meals.

In regards to school funds - be aware of children entitled to pupil premium, service children and any refugees. These will all bring funding into school. Read up on these.

Happy for you to DM me.

That’s honestly so helpful thank you - gives me some talking points and certainly some areas to read up on

Good luck.

Be prepared to answer questions on multi tasking and getting constant interruptions.
It's a great job but in the office, you will be expected to know everything 😉

Make sure you read up on safeguarding as I always had questions on that when going for a school role.

They might ask if you know what sound financial working practices are?

They very likely have a financial procedures/policy document. It might not be online, but I would be saying how I would follow the procedures they have. It might be things like two people signing things off or separating out roles, so the person ordering, isn't the person who pays.

I had my interview and I did the best I could! They were really nice so fingers crossed!

just wanted to say thanks for all your answers and help

Well done OP! Lovely feeling when an interview is over!

Thanks! I ended up really really nervous beforehand but they were really welcoming and this did take away some of my nerves. Hoping I still managed to get some good points across but I’ve decided it’s all good experience!

Let us know how you got on!

I got the job!!

Well done! Great admin staff are such a massive part of school - i wish you all tbe best on your new role 👍

Well done

Well done op! I am in school admin and l love it! Didn't see your post yesterday otherwise l would have given you some tips but sounds like you didn't need them!

Congratulations!

Thank you! What do you love about your job?
im looking forward to it!

The busy-ness - am never ever bored. The kids. Even some of the parents are nice! I love how evwn though my dd left primary ages ago, l still get to watch a nativity every year. Best bit is all the holidays lol!

Fab! I’m excited 😊

Congratulations 🥳

Huge congratulations! Well done

As the posters on here helped me so much I thought it might be useful to share a few interview question/scenarios that came up for others going to similar interviews.

I was advised it was going to be a short interview and a 15 min hand written in tray task.

The interview was not that short really and probably 8-10 questions (they had 3 pages of questions).

Some of the questions I remember were around:
What I know about safeguarding
Tell us a bit about yourself (personal and experience) and what led you to apply for this
Tell us about a time you’ve dealt with a difficult or challenging staff member/colleague/parent etc
where do you see yourself in 3 years
what do you see as the most important parts of school office admin
what’s your experience of working with finances/working to a budget etc
something to do with IT systems - along the lines of tell us how you have used a IT system/database and implemented or helped to improve processes
how do you prioritise your workload (not worded like this but that was the point of the question)

there were more but I can’t remember specifics, I know I mentioned lots of things throughout the interview:
ofsted
team work and communication
safeguarding, KCAIE
i didn’t get specifically asked about confidentiality which I was surprised by but I threw the word in to show my understanding!
And I mentioned about all my reading up and the missions and visions of the school

The In tray task was very similar to others I’ve read about. Prioritising 4 different tasks when you’re in the office on your own and give reasons for your choice - my options were below.

sick child
phone ringing
photocopying that the head teacher needs in 45 minutes
parent at reception wanting to speak to head teacher but head teacher is elsewhere in the school

hopefully my experience helps someone else in the future 😊