Admissions Officer | Milton Abbey School in Blandford Forum

Admissions Officer – Visa, Agents and International Admissions

Duties and Responsibilities

• To ensure that all admissions enquiries are handled professionally, courteously, efficiently and effectively, from initial call to handover to Housemaster, in line with the aims and ethos of the school.
• To share responsibility for the maintenance of comprehensive, detailed and accurate records.
• To maintain detailed and current understanding of Milton Abbey pupil recruitment and retention numbers, trends and patterns, briefing Head, Deputy Head Development and Admissions and Director of Finance as required.
• To monitor and respond to all enquiries and contacts related to Admissions, including:

• Monitoring Admissions Phone, directing enquiries to appropriate team members.
• Monitoring relevant email accounts and action inbox, and having shared oversight of Admissions@.

Parent Visits

• To share responsibility for all prospective parent visits and to lead on visits by agents.
• To ensure the Deputy Head Development and Admissions, Head and SENDCO have all relevant information and paperwork to make accurate and appropriate admissions decisions.
• To ensure any reasonable adjustments for interviews or assessments are put in place, in consultation with the Learning Development Department.
• To devise a bespoke visit for each applicant, focusing on areas of interest and need.
• To organise and brief pupil guides, liaising with Head of Sixth Form.
• To follow up visits appropriately and efficiently with parents/agents.
• To ensure regular contact with registered, confirmed and enquiry families, liaising with Marketing Officer to support communications for mailings/social media and events.
• To liaise with colleagues including the Head, Deputy Head Development and Admissions, SENDCO, Director of Finance, Head’s PA, Senior Deputy Head, Deputies, and HSM, as appropriate with regard to prospective pupils, pre and post visits.
• To ensure the school is prepared for tours, in conjunction with the Head of Operations.

Staff Liaison and Briefing

• To ensure that House Teams, Health Centre, and Deputies Team are fully briefed on arriving pupils.
• To provide Admissions induction and training for teaching and house staff.
• To communicate with the Deputies Team to ensure appropriate induction processes, class allocation and academic setting are in place for mid-year and mid-phase joiners.
• To liaise between parents and the Head of Lower School/VI Form on suitable options for incoming pupils.

Statutory and Regulatory

• To arrange with Deputy Head Development and Admissions the annual review, and Governor sign-off, of Admissions Policy.
• To coordinate the school’s Visa and Immigration work, taking responsibility for the CAS allocation process for relevant new pupils according to Home Office rules and guidance.
• To ensure that all pupils residents overseas have appropriate guardianship arrangements, meeting statutory requirements.
• To remain conversant with developments in immigration relevant to boarding.
• To maintain all school records in line with current Child Student Visa policy.
• To ensure registration, confirmation and joiner forms are fully completed.
• To maintain necessary communication with and administration for the UKVI, including up to date paperwork on all CAS entries.
• To be responsible for Child Student Visa Parent and School Policies along with Guardian Agreements and Agent Agreements.
• To act as a UKVI Level 1 user.
• To lead on inspection of Admissions, keeping all documentation and records inspection-ready, in consultation with Head of Compliance.
• To ensure that all legal requirements and statutory guidance (including Independent School Standards Regulations, Keeping Children Safe in Education and Home Office Guidance) are followed and documented.

Information Collection and Provision

• To share oversight of the admissions database system, running off reports as required and ensuring that all leads and contact information are stored accurately.
• To prepare topic papers for the Deputy Head Development and Admissions, e.g. overseas student recruitment, day pupil numbers.
• To provide the Finance Director and Head with pupil numbers update weekly or as required.
• To be responsible for information relating to the retention of pupils in liaison with HSM team and the Head.
• To draw up a departmental Admissions Handbook, detailing processes and policies.

Exhibitions/Recruitment trips

• To identify, and organise attendance at, recruitment events (UK and overseas) representing MA at events as required.
• To organise a schedule of overseas trips/UK trips and online meetings for senior staff, as directed by Deputy Head Development and Admissions.
• To commission appropriate exhibition/display materials from Marketing Department.

Analysis and Strategy

• To use data to provide strategic updates/identify patterns and trends in recruitment.
• To support the Deputy Head Development and Admissions in identifying and developing new opportunities, strategies and methods for marketing the School nationally and internationally.
• To develop new overseas and UK markets through contact with new and existing agents and education consultancies.
• To work with Finance Director and Head of Marketing and Events on recruitment initiatives.
• To help to plan the Admissions calendar (e.g. Open Days, Introductory, Taster and events).

Routine Admissions Administration

• To schedule zoom and on-site visits, communicating weekly list internally.
• To input telephone /website/email prospectus enquiries into our Admissions Database and follow up with a letter and prospectus.
• To produce Admissions mailings (call to action emails, confirmation of attendance for open days etc, new pupil information mailings, prep head/Agent marketing run etc) as and when required.
• To provide Events Team with mailing lists from database for events, e.g. Open Day invitations.
• To create and maintain individual pupil records for all prospective pupils and all new joiners on iSams via inbox, calls, agent requests.
• To request and process Admissions documents, including school references and learning.
• To administer required EAL/CAT4 testing for applicants, recording, and distributing results.
• To liaise with Accounts for all agent and parent payments (reg fee/deposit/commission).
• To update attendance/post attendance for Open Days/Taster Days and follow up as required.
• To maintain paper and electronic files for current and prospective pupils.
• To collate new pupil information which is centralised and distributed as required.
• To ensure detailed and accurate entry of all new pupil information on ISAMS.
• To coordinate and distribute joiner information/parent booklet in consultation with Senior Deputy.
• To assist the events team with commercial lets and other events, particularly outside.

Educational Agents

• To manage relationships with Educational Agents including but not limited to:

• Onboarding (including referencing and other due diligence).
• Contracts and financial agreements.
• Communications regarding candidates.
• Seeking support where required on immigration formalities.
• Signing off commission payments and monitoring expenditure against budget.

Any other duties reasonably requested by the Head, which may involve working flexibly with occasional evening and weekend work (with time off in lieu by agreement with Deputy Head Development and Admissions).

Skills, Experience and Personal attributes required

• Several years experience working in a fast-paced administrative role working to high standards of accuracy and efficiency.
• Take responsibility, where appropriate, for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of the children and young people in School, where applicable.
• Team working skills, discretion and clear understanding of confidentiality are essential.
• Good communication skills with all groups of staff, managers across the School and with all external organisations is essential.
• Excellent IT skills across a number of relevant platforms, including Word, Excel, Zoom, Teams, Outlook and PowerPoint.
• The post holder will be expected to maintain a polite manner and smart appearance when communicating virtually.
• Ensure adherence to all School Policies and Procedures as an employee.
• Attend relevant training courses internally or externally, as requested, to update skills and for the benefit of both parties.
• Experience working in an admissions department in an education setting would be ideal but is not essential.

TERMS OF APPOINTMENT

• This role is year-round (52 weeks).
• 25 days holidays plus bank holidays that fall outside of term time.
• Hours: 40 hours per week. Monday to Friday generally 08:30 – 17:00 (including 30 minutes unpaid lunch break). Some flexibility may be required during term time to accommodate admissions events, some of which will be on Saturdays, for which time off in lieu will be available.
• Salary: A competitive salary is offered to the successful candidate depending on experience and qualification.
• Probation: The position is subject to a 16-week probationary period.
• Pension: A contributory pension scheme will be available including life assurance.
• Other benefits: Meals on duty (e.g. full three course meal at lunchtime) (non-contractual benefit), free on-site parking, Employee Assistance Programme, use of facilities such as the gym and swimming pool at specified times.
• Medical Fitness: Any offer of employment will be conditional upon the appointee’s fitness to carry out the role. New employees will be asked, following an offer of employment, to complete a questionnaire regarding medical fitness.
• Criminal Check (DBS): As a School, Milton Abbey requires all new employees to complete an Enhanced level criminal background check through the Disclosure and Barring Service. It is a condition of employment that the employee should not have been convicted of a criminal offence against children, nor have been dismissed from or resigned from a previous employer for misconduct of a similar nature.
• References: In addition, all new employees are required to provide two satisfactory references from two separate sources, one of sources should be from a previous employer. The school may also contact any previous employer, where the position has involved working with children or vulnerable adults.

APPLICATIONS

Applications must be submitted on a Milton Abbey School application form with a covering letter. Your application can be supported by a CV but applications by CV alone will not be considered. Further details may be obtained from our website or from HR email hr@miltonabbey.co.uk or telephone 01258 880484. Please address your letter to the Headmaster, James Watson and send the letter, application form and any supporting paperwork to: We will contact all applicants to either invite them to interview or advise them that on this occasion their application will not be taken further.