School Admin and Learning Support Supporting Statements: What Schools Look For

Schools are full of jobs besides teaching. Two of the most popular are working in the school office and supporting pupils with additional needs. Both put safeguarding and people skills first, but in different ways.

School office and admin roles

Roles include school receptionist, office or admin assistant, attendance officer, and data or exams officer. You are often the first person parents, pupils and visitors meet, and you keep the school running behind the scenes.

What schools usually look for

• Safeguarding awareness: signing in visitors, following procedures, and passing on concerns
• Confidentiality with pupil and family information
• A friendly, calm manner with parents, pupils and visitors, including when people are upset
• Accuracy and organisation, with lots of interruptions
• IT skills, and ideally experience of a school management system such as SIMS or Arbor
• Often desirable: a first aid certificate

Example paragraph

For “Ability to deal calmly and professionally with parents and visitors” (an example only, so use your own experience):

“In my job as a GP receptionist, a mother arrived very upset because she had been told there were no appointments for her son. I took her to a quieter area, listened, and checked his symptoms against our urgent criteria. I arranged for the duty doctor to call her within the hour, and explained exactly what would happen next. She calmed down, and later sent a card to the practice thanking the team for listening.”

Learning support roles (ALN in Wales, SEN in England)

Learning support assistants, ALN or SEN teaching assistants, and one-to-one support workers help pupils with additional learning needs to learn, join in and feel safe. In Wales these are called additional learning needs (ALN), and pupils may have an individual development plan (IDP). In England they are special educational needs (SEN), and some pupils have an education, health and care plan (EHCP). Use the words your school uses.

What schools usually look for

• Experience with children or young people with additional needs, for example autism, ADHD, speech and language needs or learning difficulties
• Patience, calm and consistency, including when behaviour is challenging
• Following a pupil’s plan and working closely with the teacher and ALNCo or SENCo
• Using strategies such as visual timetables, breaks and adapted activities
• Safeguarding, and sometimes personal care
• Good communication with parents

Example paragraph

For “Experience of supporting children with additional needs” (an example only, so use your own experience):

“At my nursery, I was key worker for a four-year-old autistic boy who became very distressed at transitions, especially tidy-up time. With his parents and the setting’s ALN lead, I introduced a picture timetable and a five-minute warning with a sand timer. I also gave him a special job at tidy-up time, carrying the basket. Within a few weeks the meltdowns at tidy-up had almost stopped, and his parents started using the same approach at home.”

Tips for both roles

• Put safeguarding in. Every school role has it in the person specification.
• Use experience from anywhere: parenting, childcare, clubs, volunteering, customer service.
• Show you’re a team player. Schools run on good relationships between staff.
• Expect an enhanced DBS check. You don’t need one to apply. The school will arrange it.

Applying for a classroom role? See my teaching assistant supporting statement guide. Applying in Wales? See how to answer Welsh language questions.