School secretary
School secretaries provide administrative support in schools.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
In your day-to-day duties you could:
- act as the main contact for parents, governors and pupils
- answer queries face to face, by email and by telephone
- greet visitors and provide refreshments
- use IT systems to run financial reports and other data analysis
- keep paper and electronic records up to date
- use reprographic equipment
- order resources, pay invoices and bank cash
- administer school meal payment system
- attend appointments and meetings outside of normal working hours
Working environment
You could work in an office, in a reception area or at a school.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could progress to school business manager, or personal assistant (PA) to the headteacher.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- administration skills
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to work on your own
- sensitivity and understanding
- to be flexible and open to change
- excellent verbal communication skills
- customer service skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- working towards this role
- applying directly
You could complete a college course to get some of the skills needed for this job. Courses include:
- Level 2 Award in Support Work in Schools
- Level 3 Diploma in Business Administration
- T level in Management and Administration
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level
More Information
You can get into this job through a business administrator advanced apprenticeship or a school business professional higher apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
More Information
You could start as an admin assistant in a larger school or multi-academy trust and work your way up to a post with more responsibility.
You could apply directly to become a school secretary. Employers would expect you to have a good standard of general education and experience of office work.
You should be able to use common office software including spreadsheets. Knowledge of accounts packages would also be helpful, although employers may provide training in some of these.
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This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.