School Secretary/Administrative Assistant
St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School, Littlehampton, West Sussex, BN16 4JR17 days remaining to apply
Job start date
2 November 2026
Closing date
21 September 2026 at 9am
Date listed
4 September 2026
Job details
Job role
- Administration, HR, data and finance
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time (Can be done as a job share)
Contract type
- Permanent
Full time equivalent salary
- FTE NJC Grade 5/6 (£26,402.69 - £28,597.75)
School Secretary/Administrative Assistant job summary
Job details
- Salary Range: FTE NJC Grade 5/6 (£26,402.69 - £28,597.75)
- Hours: 37 hours per week Term Time Only (TTO) - Job share applications will be considered
- Contract type: Permanent
- Reporting to: Headteacher
- Start: November 2026
We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic School Secretary/Administrative Assistant to join our hard working and supportive team.
St Wilfrid’s is a small, successful and happy school, combining a caring Catholic ethos with enthusiastic learners. Behaviour is good due to our commitment to high expectations and a positive approach to learning.
You will work in a warm, friendly and caring environment, and play an essential role as the first face people see when visiting our school. St Wilfrid’s is part of the Bosco Catholic Education Trust, providing great career progression and CPD opportunities.
Do I have to be Catholic to work in a Catholic school? No! Our Catholic Faith is what makes St Wilfrid’s so special and it is woven into everything we do; this includes welcoming everyone that comes through our doors.
Main Purpose of the Role
The Administrative Assistant is responsible for delivering high-quality administrative, financial and organisational support across the school. The post-holder will also support key HR processes and assist in the effective planning and delivery of support functions within the school.
As the first point of contact for parents, visitors and other stakeholders, the post-holder will act as an ambassador for the school, ensuring all interactions reflect and uphold the school’s values, vision and ethos.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
General Administration
• Update and maintain manual and computerised records and information systems.
• Maintain the school calendar.
• Assist with managing the school’s email inbox, ensuring timely responses and forwarding messages when necessary.
• Manage and organise completed forms returned by parents.
• Report issues relating to the school’s IT systems.
• Organise and distribute incoming and outgoing post.
• Provide administrative support to staff as needed.
• Book training courses for staff and maintain associated records.
• Order, monitor and manage stock and resources, ensuring best value and following purchasing procedures.
• Carry out filing, printing and photocopying and maintain printers/photocopiers to ensure continuous availability.
• Assist with organising parents’ evenings, meetings and school events, including room booking, equipment setup and refreshments.
• Maintain records in line with the school’s retention schedule and data protection legislation, ensuring confidentiality at all times.
• Managing of Medicines and school First Aid at Work representative
• Any other duties required to support Headteacher and school i.e.: Lunch Cover
• Work collaboratively with the Trust to ensure consistency, accuracy and efficiency in administrative processes across the Trust.
Attendance Administration
• Maintain accurate pupil attendance records and produce required reports.
• Monitor late arrivals and contact parents/carers to establish reasons for absence, following safeguarding protocols.
Reception Duties
• Act as the first point of contact for parents, visitors and other stakeholders.
• Handle phone and face-to-face enquiries professionally and supportively.
• Seek guidance from colleagues where necessary to resolve complex queries.
• Respond promptly and accurately to messages, ensuring appropriate follow-up.
• Provide information and support to pupils and staff.
Security
• Control access to the school in line with safeguarding procedures, including signing in visitors, checking identification, issuing passes and providing safeguarding information.
• Remain vigilant to unknown individuals on the premises and report concerns immediately.
Written Communication
• Draft and send professional emails that reflect the school’s values.
• Support the preparation and distribution of communications (letters, newsletters, social media posts etc.) for parents, staff and stakeholders.
• Assist with marketing and promotional activities.
HR and Support Function Responsibilities
• Assist with the planning, development and delivery of the support functions of the school, ensuring smooth administrative and operational processes.
• Contribute to the development and coordination of training programmes, learning opportunities and CPD for support staff.
• Support the induction and mentoring of new support staff, ensuring they understand school processes and expectations.
• Maintaining the Single Central Records (SCR)
• Assist with routine HR functions typically required in a school environment, which may include:
- maintaining personnel records,
- organising staff training,
- supporting recruitment administration, including maintaining records on payroll and HR systems
- assisting with absence reporting processes,
- maintaining confidentiality and compliance with HR policies.
• Work collaboratively with leaders to ensure support services operate efficiently and in line with school policies and statutory guidance.
• Work closely with the Trust School Secretary/Administrative Assistant on HR-related administration, data consistency, recruitment processes and compliance across the Trust.
Safeguarding
• Work in line with statutory safeguarding guidance (e.g. Keeping Children Safe in Education, Prevent) and our safeguarding and child protection policies
• Work with the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) to promote the best interests of pupils, including sharing concerns where necessary
• Promote the safeguarding of all pupils in the school
Please note that this is illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of the role; it is not a comprehensive list of all tasks. The post holder may be required to do other duties appropriate to the level of the role, as directed by the Headteacher.
St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School and West Sussex County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to an appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service check along with other relevant employment checks, including satisfactory references.
How to apply
Visits to the school are positively encouraged – we would love to meet you and show you around! Please contact the school office to discuss this further and find a convenient time.
To apply for this role please download the job description and application form below. Complete the application form and ensure that you outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills in the job description).
NOTE TO CANDIDATES - Please do not select the ‘Apply online’ button as the School processes your applications directly rather than through this site.
No CVs please, Catholic Education Service (CES) application forms only, available from the school office or the school website.
St Wilfrid’s Catholic Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and as such, any offer of employment would be subject to an enhanced DBS check, health checks and references.
All applicants will be subject to an online search.
Application Deadline: Monday 21st September 2026 – 9am
Shortlisting: Monday 21st September 2026
Proposed Interview Dates: Thursday 24th September 2026
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.
Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.
Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children
You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
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.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School
- Organisation type
- Academy, Roman Catholic, ages 4 to 11
- Education phase
- Primary school
- Size
- 160 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 4 to 11
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic Class Teacher to join our hard working and supportive team.
St Wilfrid’s is a small, successful and happy school, combining a caring Catholic ethos with enthusiastic learners. Behaviour is outstanding due to our commitment to high expectations and a positive approach to learning.
This role suits a Teacher who is passionate about making an impact in the classroom and contributing to the wider development of our school.
You will work in a warm, friendly and caring environment, and play an essential role in our school, in order to make our belief of Aim High, Believe and Achieve a reality. St Wilfrid’s is part of the Bosco Catholic Education Trust, providing great career progression and CPD opportunities.
Do I have to be Catholic to work in a Catholic school?
Our Catholic Faith is what makes St Wilfrid’s so special. It is woven into everything we do; this includes welcoming everyone that comes through our doors. 47.5% of teachers in Catholic schools are Catholic. Catholic schools value and respect all staff members regardless of backgrounds or beliefs and promote and support the vocation of teaching.
For certain Leadership positions (eg. Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and Head of Religious Education) there is a requirement that the position be filled by a practicing Catholic in order to maintain the Catholic ethos of the school. This is in line with Equalities Act 2010.
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