School Receptionist

Job Title: School Receptionist

Location: Walsall

We passionately believe that every young person who attends New Leaf School should achieve excellent personal and academic progress. This is due to our nurturing and caring approach.

We provide a personalised learning experience to enable students to reintegrate into a mainstream school or to transition into an appropriate educational establishment. This equips them with the skills they need to succeed in their future.

Every day is a step forward, a chance to grow, an opportunity to build resilience and confidence needed to step forward into the future.

We work with our young people to ensure that any barrier in their life we overcome together. This support is also extended to our young people's families who we work really hard with to support them as we know the benefits that this has on our students.

At New Leaf, we welcome every young person with open hearts and open minds. Our promise is very simple to provide a safe, nurturing environment where all of our students are believed in, valued and given the opportunity to thrive.

Our Values

Ready- Being ready means more than just having a pen or a planner, it also means being mentally prepared, emotionally supported and equipped to focus on the task at hand.

Respectful - Respectful means recognising our own worth and the worth of others. Our students learn that respect is not just about their own behaviour, but also about the way that they treat each other and themselves when they're in a learning environment.

Safe - That's the foundation. Feeling safe, acting safe, and making sure that others feel the same. When a young person feels safe, we know that everything else becomes possible.

Our core values underpin everything we do. We want our staff and students to be ready, respectful and safe.

To see more of the amazing work we do: New Leaf School - Home

About the role

Are you ready to embark on a rewarding journey within an educational community that values increasing opportunities, improving outcomes for our students. We are looking for a receptionist to join our team.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Receive visitors, respond to enquiries and provide a courteous, professional and welcoming environment.

Answer telephone calls and emails promptly, accurately and professionally.

Operate the electronic gate and control visitor access in line with the school’s safeguarding and security procedures.

Deal with general reception enquiries from pupils, parents, carers, staff and visitors.

Sign in visitors and contractors, issue lanyards and ensure that visitor procedures are followed.

Provide general administrative support, including word processing, spreadsheets, filing, photocopying and the use of MIS and finance systems.

Support attendance processes by checking registers on MIS systems and entering information supplied by Family Support Workers and the attendance team.

Support the safe admission of pupils through the gated premises each morning and liaise with the attendance team as required.

Gather and update parent and carer contact details and other pupil information on MIS systems, ensuring data is entered accurately and handled confidentially.

Frank and record outgoing post; open and distribute incoming school post as appropriate.

Distribute notices and letters to form groups through register folders and prefects.

Order stationery and monitor reception supplies as required.

Collate confidential admission meeting paperwork for permanently excluded students and preventative paperwork for placement students.

Respond appropriately to emergencies reported to Reception and follow school procedures.

Undertake first aid training and provide first aid support within the responsibilities of the post.

Manage room bookings, including the conference room.

Print an absence report for fire evacuations and update registers during an evacuation as required.

Maintain the reception area to a high standard of presentation and organisation.

Manage lost property in accordance with school procedures.

Work effectively as part of the wider school team and provide reasonable cover or support when required.

Undertake any other duties and responsibilities that may reasonably be required, in line with the grade and purpose of the post.

Skills, Knowledge and Personal Qualities

A professional, courteous and approachable manner, with excellent verbal and written communication skills.

The ability to remain calm, discreet and organised in a busy reception environment.

Good administrative and ICT skills, including confidence using Microsoft Word and Excel; experience of MIS, finance systems and CPOMS is desirable.

The ability to manage competing priorities, work accurately and pay close attention to detail.

The ability to work independently and contribute positively as part of a team.

A clear understanding of confidentiality, data protection, safeguarding and child protection procedures.

A reliable, resilient and adaptable approach, with high standards of punctuality, attendance and professional conduct.

Commitment to the school’s ethos, equal opportunities and the welfare of children and young people.

Pay range: Grade 3 SCP 4-6

Qualifications and Skills:

GCSE English and Mathematics at Grade 4/C or above, or equivalent Level 2 qualifications, are desirable. First aid training is also desirable; the successful candidate must be willing to undertake relevant training if required.

For full details of the post please see attached Job Description and Person Specification

Why The Mercian Trust?

As one Trust we share a common purpose. We call it our social mobility and social justice mission to change our communities through the very best equitable education. When we get this right, it enables our children and young people to fulfil their potential, thrive in the world of work, and make a positive contribution to the local, national and international community. Our recent achievements include:

Sustainable Growth - becoming one of the largest and most diverse trusts in the region

Social Mobility & Social Justice - National recognition for the Trust’s two selective grammar schools who the most successful on the number of local disadvantaged students passing the entrance and joining the schools

Increasing Opportunities - Opening brand-new purpose-built campus in Walsall Town Centre including an alternative provision for students at risk at permanent exclusion from mainstream schools alongside a Digital Skills Hub to provide professionals and employers

Pioneering Spirit - National recognition for pioneering work around youth mental health, including establishing an in-house multi-disciplinary team of clinicians and allied health professionals delivering interventions and providing support to vulnerable students

Outward Looking - Organising and hosting the region’s first Youth Suicide Conference (2023) and Youth Violence Conference (2024) at Villa Park

Innovation and Improvement - A multi-million-pound investment in the digital infrastructure of Trust schools and our Digital Skills Hub underpinning the ongoing transformation of how staff teach, students learn, leaders lead and the whole Trust operates in readiness for the AI-supercharged careers and workplaces of the future.

Want to be a part of something extraordinary? Find out more: The Mercian Trust - Home

What can we offer you: