Admin Assistant and Receptionist

Please see application specifics at the bottom of this page if you would like to apply for this post.

Admin Assistant and Receptionist

St Columba C of E Primary School, Fareham, PO15 6LL
Hours: 12:30 – 4.00pm Thursday and 9am – 1pm Friday 7.5 hrs per week

Start date: ASAP
Salary: B FTE £25614 - £25934 (depending on experience and qualifications) Actual Salary (£4453 - £4508)
Contract: Term time only 39 weeks (44.6 Paid Weeks)

We are seeking a detail-oriented and proactive Administrative Assistant to join our team. The ideal candidate will possess excellent organisational skills, a strong command of office software, and the ability to communicate effectively over the phone. If you are looking for a dynamic role where you can contribute to our team's success, we would love to hear from you.

St Columba is a small Primary School underpinned by a strong, supportive team, dedicated to improving the education and well-being for all our children. St Columba is now graded by OFSTED as a Good school in all areas. We are a Centre of Excellence for Inclusion and have a strong, relational approach to supporting the needs of all children. St Columba is part of the DCAT Academy Trust. The Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust exists for its schools. Each school is unique and serves its own children and local community. As an education academy trust, our schools work together to support and challenge each other to keep improving so that all our children can achieve their best and their God-given potential in all aspects of school life. St Columba is looking for an excellent member of the Admin Support Team who has a passion for developing their career and contributing to the further development of the school. The successful candidate will have great communication, be motivated, friendly and a be able to transfer skills to this role.

Qualities:

It is expected that the Receptionist/Admin Assistant will:

• Be committed to continuous school improvement
• Able to work on his/her own initiative in the execution of the duties outlined below;
• Be able to relate effectively to staff, children, parents, governors and the public;
• Promote good relationships amongst those working within the school
• Be sensitive to the needs of others and be able to always develop a reassuring atmosphere;
• Take a creative approach to problem-solving to identify and resolve issues as they arise;
• Have experience of Word, Excel, Outlook (essential), Arbor experience desirable but full training will be given
• Understand the importance of confidentiality and the safeguarding of our pupils

Duties

People Management and customer service

• Ensure a caring and calm ‘front of house’ organising and prioritising parental and other stakeholder appointments
• To provide reception and hospitality to all visitors to the school.
• Liaise with visiting contractors in the absence of the caretaker.
• Provide hospitality to visitors
• Act as first point of contact for general parent/pupil/visitor enquiries, responding within the standards procedures
• Contribute to the smooth running of the school’s reception, postal, telephones, stationery and hospitality facilities and parent communication procedures

Welfare

• To maintain a current first aid qualification (training provided).
• Giving first aid to pupils when required
• Assuming a role in fire evacuation procedures
• Responsible for ordering and stock levels for the First Aid Room

Administration

• Maintenance of appropriate filing systems.
• Monitor School Admissions and Attendance.
• Manage preparation and word processing of school correspondence and other documents.
• Produce routine correspondence for head teacher’s signature
• Produce programmes for school events, compile the school Newsletter.
• Apply a wide range of standard processes and procedures under supervision
• Produce and process routine documentation for teaching staff
• Input and extract staff/pupil information using computer-based systems, including medical information
• Support School Business Manager with allocated tasks
• Monitor school stationery levels.

Other

• To treat all information as highly confidential.
• To carry out such other duties as may be reasonably allocated within the remit of the post.
• Awareness of equality issues and health and safety regulations
• Promoting/marketing the image of the school in all contact with the outside world

If you would like to visit the school please contact us on 01329 843226 or email [email protected].

Closing date for Applications is 23 October 2026

Interview date TBC

Please see School Website for Application Form.

www.stcolumbaprimary.co.uk

If you would like to visit the school please contact us on 01329 843226 or email [email protected].

To Apply for this position you will need to complete an Application Form which can be found on our website. We do not accept CV's

Application Form Completion

As part of the application, please focus the reasons for your application on the essential criteria within the Person Specification. You may want to do this in the form of a letter as part of the application. Please indicate, providing evidence, how your knowledge, skills, experience and personal attributes either at work, or elsewhere, qualify you to undertake the duties and responsibilities set out in the Job Description. We do not accept CV’s.

Shortlisting

We assess all applications against the Person Specification criteria using the evidence you provide in your application. This will be completed by a panel of Trust and Academy senior staff. We carefully check all applications for anomalies. Candidates who best meet the Person Specification will be invited to an interview via email. If you have not heard from us within three days of the shortlisting date, you have not been successful at this stage.

References

We request two references for all candidates who are invited to interview. Requests will be made at the same time that candidates are invited to interview. One referee should be your current or last employer.

Interview Process

The interview will be held at St Columba C of E Primary Academy, Tewksbury Avenue, Fareham PO15 6LL. As part of the interview process you will be asked to complete a small task.

Offer of Employment

We will make a verbal offer of employment by telephone and an offer letter in writing will be emailed. Any offer is made subject to satisfactory references, DBS clearance check and proof of identity and qualifications. Each candidate will be telephoned with the outcome and offered brief feed-back.

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: £4,453.00 per year

Education:

• GCSE or equivalent (preferred)

Work Location: In person