School Admissions Officer

Overview

Achieving for Children is seeking an Admissions Officer as part of the School Admissions Team managing admissions into schools in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

This role reports into the Senior Admissions Officer and will assist in the operation of the School Admissions Team to ensure the statutory and discretionary functions are carried out efficiently and effectively with the highest possible customer service standards.

The School Admissions Officer is one of eight posts in the team, and this is a key role in implementing school admission arrangements for Kingston schools. Working closely with the Kingston Senior Admissions (Casework) Officer and Senior Admissions (IT) Officer, as well as schools and other stakeholders, the successful candidate will assist with coordinating and allocating primary and secondary school places during the national admission rounds and from in year admission applications. This will involve making and evidencing sometimes difficult decisions based on national and local policy.

Key responsibilities

• Implementing the school admission arrangements for schools within the council, with a primary focus on Kingston schools.
• Advising parents and carers via phone and email on general and individual aspects of the school admissions processes.
• Managing and progressing a caseload of individual school admission applications, remaining fully compliant with national and local policy at all times.
• Assisting in the planning and management of the primary and secondary school place allocation process, including using discretion (in liaison with senior officers) for more complex admissions applications, such as those requiring evidence of where applicants and their children are living.

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact Maggie Engman at .

Qualifications and skills

• Educated to GCSE level 4 or above (or equivalent) in both Mathematics and English.
• Knowledge of, or the proven ability to acquire effective knowledge of, statutory legislation, policy, guidance, and procedures relating to school admissions.
• Experience of school admissions administration is preferred, or alternatively demonstrated experience with administering large volumes of data in other cyclical processes and procedures.
• Proven ability to utilise data, intelligence, and evidence to gain meaningful insight and inform decision making.
• Experience in keeping and maintaining accurate records (in accordance with local policy) and producing precise reports, presentations, and written updates for various stakeholders (including schools, elected members, families, children, or young people). This includes the ability to convey technical information in an easily understandable manner.