School Admissions Assistant
| Posting date: | 20 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £22,817 to £25,152 per year |
| Hours: | Part time |
| Closing date: | 08 March 2026 |
| Location: | Reading, Berkshire |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 2 days per week |
| Company: | Reading Borough Council |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | DOC0044 |
Summary
30 hours, 12 months fixed term contract
At Reading Borough Council, we’re committed to providing high quality services that make a real difference to families across our community. Our School Admissions Team plays a vital part in ensuring fair, efficient and well managed access to education for children across the borough.
We are now looking for a motivated and customer focused School Admissions Assistant to join our busy team and help deliver an excellent service to parents, carers, schools and partner organisations.
We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.
About the role
In this role, you’ll support the smooth running of school admissions across the borough. You’ll be responsible for keeping essential records accurate, guiding families through the admissions process, and ensuring all statutory deadlines are met.
Your work will include:
Administering school admission arrangements in line with statutory legislation and Council policy.
Entering, verifying and maintaining accurate data within the School Admissions System.
Preparing allocation reports and keeping schools updated with outcomes.
Responding to enquiries by phone, email and face to face, offering clear, professional and empathetic advice.
Supporting parents and carers through sometimes challenging or sensitive discussions regarding their application outcomes.
You’ll also collaborate closely with internal teams such as SEND, School Transport, Early Years and Social Care, ensuring a joined up approach to supporting children and families.
About you
You’ll be someone who thrives in a fast paced environment, enjoys working with the public and takes pride in delivering accurate, high quality administrative work. You’ll bring strong communication skills and the ability to remain calm and reassuring when helping families navigate important decisions.
We’re looking for someone with:
Experience working in a customer facing role within a professional environment.
Previous experience in a busy office setting, ideally within education or a legislation governed sector.
Strong ICT skills and confidence using multiple systems.
Excellent written skills and attention to detail when preparing letters, emails and documents.
The ability to handle conflict with empathy, assertiveness and understanding.
It would also be beneficial (but not essential) if you have an understanding of safeguarding principles or experience interpreting data and figures. Full training on school admissions processes will be provided.
You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.
Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:
Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do
Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential
Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance – striving to be even better – and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way
Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed
Our offer
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.
A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service and 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
A wide range of flexible working opportunities
Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax
Closing Date: Sunday 8th March 2025
Interview Date: Wednesday 25th March 2026
Interview Process: To be confirmed
At Reading Borough Council, we’re committed to providing high quality services that make a real difference to families across our community. Our School Admissions Team plays a vital part in ensuring fair, efficient and well managed access to education for children across the borough.
We are now looking for a motivated and customer focused School Admissions Assistant to join our busy team and help deliver an excellent service to parents, carers, schools and partner organisations.
We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.
About the role
In this role, you’ll support the smooth running of school admissions across the borough. You’ll be responsible for keeping essential records accurate, guiding families through the admissions process, and ensuring all statutory deadlines are met.
Your work will include:
Administering school admission arrangements in line with statutory legislation and Council policy.
Entering, verifying and maintaining accurate data within the School Admissions System.
Preparing allocation reports and keeping schools updated with outcomes.
Responding to enquiries by phone, email and face to face, offering clear, professional and empathetic advice.
Supporting parents and carers through sometimes challenging or sensitive discussions regarding their application outcomes.
You’ll also collaborate closely with internal teams such as SEND, School Transport, Early Years and Social Care, ensuring a joined up approach to supporting children and families.
About you
You’ll be someone who thrives in a fast paced environment, enjoys working with the public and takes pride in delivering accurate, high quality administrative work. You’ll bring strong communication skills and the ability to remain calm and reassuring when helping families navigate important decisions.
We’re looking for someone with:
Experience working in a customer facing role within a professional environment.
Previous experience in a busy office setting, ideally within education or a legislation governed sector.
Strong ICT skills and confidence using multiple systems.
Excellent written skills and attention to detail when preparing letters, emails and documents.
The ability to handle conflict with empathy, assertiveness and understanding.
It would also be beneficial (but not essential) if you have an understanding of safeguarding principles or experience interpreting data and figures. Full training on school admissions processes will be provided.
You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.
Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:
Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do
Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential
Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance – striving to be even better – and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way
Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed
Our offer
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.
A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service and 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
A wide range of flexible working opportunities
Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax
Closing Date: Sunday 8th March 2025
Interview Date: Wednesday 25th March 2026
Interview Process: To be confirmed
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.