School interview - in tray exercise

[3disneykids]

No advice but hope it goes well

[katnav]

When I interviewed for a similar role I had to input dinner money on Sims, take a telephone message and email it to someone and prioritise a list of tasks/situations. Good luck

[MinnieMermaid]

Google Eisenhower’s matrix when you come to do this - draw it in the bottom of a spare page and use it to prioritise things which are important and urgent VS important but not urgent for example

[MinnieMrsA]

I usually do interviewing for this type of post and the advice above about in tray exercises is good.

I usually do a list of priorities (put safety first and don't be afraid to delegate/ask someone else to do something as part of this. Also mention how you would dral with something e.g. irate parent at the office - being empathetic, reassuring etc), drafting a letter from basic information given and taking a picture somewhere in school and preparing a tweet (of course saying you would only ever publish it with all relevant consent). For finance I also usually do a cost cutting exercise - mock budget spreadsheet then see if any anomalies, excess spending etc can be picked up.

What let down some of the best candidates was their Safeguarding knowledge - so really brush up on this. It's about following policies, no concern ever being too small to report - you only have a small piece of the jigsaw to pass on but you need every piece to complete the jigsaw. There is a revised version of Keeping Children Safe in Education out - I'd recommend a skim over this (it is long and not all relevant for your post). Also worth mentioning that part of your role as admin might be maintaining the Single Central Record, sorting out DBS checks, allowing visitors in etc - making you a gatekeeper in keeping the school safe.

All the best!

[scoobydooby]

Good luck. Just to be helpful. Agree to prioritise any safeguarding issue. Also know there are Designated Teachers for Safeguarding so you’d mention that and alerting them. Same for a looked after child. They also have a named Designated Teacher. I’d suggest second issue to deals rig urgently would be teacher absence. Can’t have a classroom with no teacher!

[Guest]

Thanks everyone. Have noted everything down and working on my notes today.

[Guest]

Interview today. In tray was 5 financial questions -1)invoice covers part of financial year, how do you account for it ( I explained accruals/prepayments) 2) Budget reports for some school departments are reaching limit, what do you do? (I said alert my manager and the department heads, follow procedure and meet to discuss how to make savings, was there an unexpected expense not planned for, expect budget to include a buffer for unforeseen items), discuss with dept just because they have this budget doesn't mean they have to spend it all on items not wanted or more expensive), 3) Invoice comes in for £20k which included was supposed to include a training day which was cancelled, how do you process it? (I put check with how ordered the work/course and confirm if the 1 day training day was cancelled, call the company and explain they need to issue a credit note and cannot process invoice until CNote is received. Follow procedure etc. 4) Senior team member asks you to raise Purchase order for £50k for building work but policy says limit is £15k before having to go to tender and get quotes etc. What do you do? (explain to senior member that the correct procedure is no more than £15k before tender process. Arrange a meeting for him to meet with you and your manager to action this. Don't raise P/order, follow procedures.) There was one more question but can't remember. Had 1 page of A4 lined paper to write answers. Plus there was a proofreading memo about an intro day for work placement, long memo. No computer work or priortise jobs etc. Interview was weird, had usual questions plus "explain you in 3 words" and "how do you deal with arguments in close team working" (I assume the lady had left quickly as she isn't there to train who ever gets the job. Usual safeguarding. It was a 3 person panel which was like being in front of the firing squad.

[BevS97]

Hope it goes well for you. The good thing with schools is you usually hear very quickly.

[shona]

Goodness you have had a busy interview, fingers crossed for a good result.

[Guest]

Didn't get the job, came 2nd but they said if they had 2 jobs to offer they would have taken us both. Another school I interviewed at a few weeks ago rang today and asked me if I was still interested and I start there in 3 weeks (the DBS check didn't come back as good for the lady who originally got the job)