Receptionist

Westfield Academy, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 6NS

29 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  ASAP

• Closing date

  28 February 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  28 January 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Administration, HR, data and finance
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £25,989.00 - £27,254.00 Annually (FTE) Pro Rata depending on hours and weeks worked

Receptionist job summary

Job description

Job title:

Receptionist

Grade:

Grade: H4

Scale point range: 6 - 9

Salary Range:£25,989 - £27,254 (FTE)

Pro Rata depending on hours and weeks worked

Hours / weeks:

37 hours per week
41 weeks/Year (Term time + 5 INSET days + 10 days)

Working hours: 9:00am - 5:00pm

Contract type:

Permanent

Reports to:

Office Manager

Job purpose

The post holder will

• Welcome all visitors and stakeholders in a warm, helpful and professional manner on entry into the Reception front office of the school.

• Promote ongoing positive relationships by providing consistently high quality customer service.

• To provide an efficient and professional reception and switchboard service at the Academy.

• To contribute to the overall ethos, work and aims of the Academy.

Responsibilities

Reception duties

• Promote a professional image at the front desk and on site at all times.

• Welcome, receive, sign post and deal with staff, pupils, parents, school governors, school visitors and other stakeholders in a confident, warm and friendly manner, ensuring that the correct information is communicated at all times.

• Answer and transfer incoming phone calls calmly, directing all enquiries in line with the Academy’s communication flow chart and dealing with any difficult situations as discretely and confidentially as possible.

• Ensure that all messages are recorded and communicated accurately via email, over the phone or face to face.

• Ensure that the reception area is tidy and presentable, with all necessary stationery, brochures, safeguarding information and other visual displays appropriately promoting and communicating ethos of the academy

• Proactively take responsibility, wherever possible, for ensuring visitor information is provided in advance of their arrival.

• Update and manage the school calendar, adding and removing content as appropriate.

• Maintain a presence around the school to ensure that the highest standards of behaviour and site usage are upheld.

• Be a part of facilitating communication throughout the Academy.

• Ensure that out of hours messages are properly set both during term time and during school holidays.

• Be proficient in operating and managing the schools telephone system and working with the telephone system service provider to ensure that a good quality service is provided and maintained.

• Ensure that the Academy’s staff telephone extension list is kept up to date and distributed in a timely manner before the start of each term.

Security, Safety and Safeguarding

• Ensure that all staff, pupils, visitors and stakeholders sign in and out appropriately on entry and exit and are fully informed of the School’s safeguarding procedures on arrival.

• Ensure that DBS paperwork is requested from agency staff, visitors and contractors and handed over to HR for checking prior to allowing access into the school.

• Monitor, maintain and be proficient in the use of the School’s sign-in and visitor management system.

• Maintain office security by controlling access via the reception desk monitors and keeping abreast with the school’s lockdown procedures.

• Assist in ensuring all visitors are accounted for during any emergency.

• Be responsible for issuing new staff and visitors with ID badges.

Administration

• Receive and sort daily post and arrange for delivery to appropriate staff.

• Record stamp and arrange the posting of outgoing post.

• Enter and retrieve pupil data and produce reports from the School’s MIS systems and other software packages as needed and directed.

• Undertake IT based tasks as required.

• Assisting in managing, distributing and disposing of lost property as required.

• Provide general administrative support e.g. photocopying, filing, archiving, completing standard forms, respond to routine correspondence.

Training and Development

• Participate in training and development activities and programmes and attend and participate in meetings as required.

First Aid

• Provide first aid assistance to staff, students and visitors as and when necessary.Training will be provided.

Additional Responsibilities

• Provide support cover, as responsibly required, in the event of staff absence.

• To undertake other such duties at the discretion of the Office Manager and School Business Manager as may reasonably be required due to the changing needs of the Academy.

• Appreciate and support the role of other professionals and establish constructive relationships and communicate with other agencies and professionals.

• Comply with, and assist with the development of policies and procedures and report all concerns to an appropriate person, in respect of:

• Child Protection

• Health, Safety and Security

• Confidentiality

• Data Protection

• Cyber Security

• Ensure that the school’s administrative systems contribute to the school’s commitment to equality of access to opportunities to learn and develop for all pupils.

• Undertake these duties within agreed departmental service/school objectives, policies and procedures and promote the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy.

The duties and responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present. This role will be reviewed annually as part of the performance appraisal process and the post holder is expected to accept any reasonable alterations that may from time to time be necessary.

Westfield Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of Children and Young people. To meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.





Person specification

Attributes

Essential (or expected to train / qualify to that standard)

Desirable

General

• Pleasant, warm, helpful, polite and courteous

• Professional attitude and appearance

• Confidentiality, probity & integrity

• Excellent time management skills with an ability to prioritise

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills




Qualifications & training

• A good education to GCSE, level or equivalent (including English & Maths, A*-C or 4+)

• Proven on the job experience

• English and Maths GCSE’s

Relevant experience

• Proven work experience as a Receptionist, Front Office Representative or similar role

• Excellent customer service skills

• Hands-on experience with office equipment (e.g. Franking Machine, printers)

• Ability to be resourceful and proactive when issues arise

• Experience in Administration

• Excellent I.T. skills (G Mail, Google, email internet etc)

• Knowledge of MIS database systems.

• Flexible working and ability to multi-task

• Experience of First Aid assistance at work or readiness to train as much would be desirable.

• Calm in a crisis

• Understanding and sensitive to others

• Keen to develop the role

• Experience of working in a school setting

• Experience of adding ‘value’ to an organisation

• Ability to use spreadsheets and knowledge of SIMS and GO3Schools

Knowledge, skills & abilities

• Good communication skills, both group and one-to-one

• Willingness to learn new skills and acquire new areas of knowledge

• Efficient organised and meticulous

• Willingness to learn to use alternative IT packages such as G-Suite

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Westfield Academy and it's Trust Board fully recognise that they have a duty of care to ensure arrangements are in place for safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children. We recognise that all members of the school community, including volunteers and Trustees, will at all times play a full and active part in protecting our students from harm.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About Westfield Academy

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 1335 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Westfield Academy website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/westfield-academy

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Westfield Academy. We are an over-subscribed, high-performing, non-selective Academy. We have been a consistently "Good" OFSTED school since 2012, with our most recent inspection being December 2019. During my time as Headteacher, our students have consistently achieved some of the best exam results in South West Herts.

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