Admin assistant in school

Sasha101

It's all part of the safer recruitment process to receive minimum of two satisfactory references for a candidate in school. The referees are questioned on suitability to work with children, any issues regarding concerns, abilities, safety and welfare etc not a standard 'tell me all the great things about this person'.

References are collected before the interview so in the event of two candidates being equally suited then references are looked at to help the decision along (aswell as who would fit in better with the others/who was liked the best in interview/who you could work with/if their face fits etc)

After the interviews, deliberating and reading through references the phone calls are made to the successful and unsuccessful candidates later that day. Schools haven't got the time to be waiting around for referees to get back to them with a reference after four or five interviews and I don't think it's fair to other candidates to have to wait for a decision either.

A decision needs to be made that day so the CRB check process can be started and starter forms/health questionnaires/medical forms/bank forms/P45/health and safety policy forms are completed for the Council.

If you really want to work in a school try volunteering if you are able to gain an inside knowledge of how the school office works and use the office systems. The knowledge and experiences learned will give you a great advantage over others when it comes to interview. I know one or two dinner ladies in other schools who volunteer in the school office in the hope of gaining employment as an Admin Assistant someday.

It took me five applications and three interviews to get my current job but it was worth it. I am glad now that I was turned down for the other jobs because it made me more confident with my answers in the last interview and plus I am in a nicer school now than the ones I went to interview for

Everything happens for a reason, so don't feel too disheartened and keep trying.

tyllwyd

Sasha101 wrote: »

It's all part of the safer recruitment process to receive minimum of two satisfactory references for a candidate in school. The referees are questioned on suitability to work with children, any issues regarding concerns, abilities, safety and welfare etc not a standard 'tell me all the great things about this person'. ...

Well, I guess that pretty much rules me out of the process anyway - I've been working from home for years now, so I wouldn't be able to get employment references that cover those kind of issues, all my work is done remotely (telephone/email).

I think either I have to go for it properly, and try to volunteer in a school & train as a TA, or give up on the idea.

makeyourdaddyproud

Well, I guess that pretty much rules me out of the process anyway - I've been
working from home for years now, so I wouldn't be able to get employment
references that cover those kind of issues, all my work is done remotely
(telephone/email).

I thought you said earlier that you could provide references, only that you rue having to provide them over and over again? It sounds like your giving up already?

If you can get any of your cited referees to testify your character regarding those issues as close as you can it would be better than nothing wouldn't it?

tyllwyd

That's the thing - my work references would be from people who only know me by email, we've never met face to face so they have no idea whether I would be safe around children! I could have provided personal references (my friend is a teacher and I've been volunteering at the school for two years now) but they didn't ask for personal references, they asked for ones from my last employer or people who know me professionally.

Yes, I agree I'm sounding fed up! I hate the whole job hunting process and finding a job in a school seems worst of all.

lulu650

tyllwyd wrote: »

....I could have provided personal references (my friend is a teacher and I've been volunteering at the school for two years now) but they didn't ask for personal references, they asked for ones from my last employer or people who know me professionally......

OP the ideal reference is your volunteering reference. I personally would have approached the Head of the school where you volunteer for a reference or use your teacher friend. Either of these would be ideal professional references.

Another idea would be to apply for a midday supervisory job in a local school. It might fit in with your current job if you work from home and would give you another school reference. There can be a fairly quick turnover in these jobs.

Jobs in schools are always very popular with mothers of school aged children for obvious reasons. You did really well to get to the interview stage. Well done:)

whitewing

I think the referees would be asked along the lines of 'do you know of any reason why the candidate should not work with children?' so your referees presumably could have answered this anyway.

tyllwyd

lulu650 wrote: »

OP the ideal reference is your volunteering reference. I personally would have approached the Head of the school where you volunteer for a reference or use your teacher friend. Either of these would be ideal professional references.

Another idea would be to apply for a midday supervisory job in a local school. It might fit in with your current job if you work from home and would give you another school reference. There can be a fairly quick turnover in these jobs.

Jobs in schools are always very popular with mothers of school aged children for obvious reasons. You did really well to get to the interview stage. Well done:)

Yes, I'm kicking myself now for not putting down the volunteering reference, I was thrown by the fact the form was so focused on employment references, but with hindsight that would have been the one to go for. If I go on with the idea of working in school, I think you are right and I'll look around for an MDSA job or do classroom volunteering (I'm only doing learning support at the moment, so it is not quite the same as a classroom full of kids.)

Whitewing - they did ask for a lot more than 'is this person safe around children', including a reference on letterheaded paper, which my referees weren't allowed to give because I have never been employed by their companies.