When you imagine a school, what do you first think of? The teachers? The children? The subjects? Behind every school is a team of hardworking administrators who oversee everything from curriculum development to budgets and discipline, yet appearing behind the scenes can sometimes mean that you're a little forgotten. Every student, faculty and staff member in any department will rely on these people, so here's a letter of recognition to those who help keep our minds from boiling over on an every day basis...

Hello,

I bet you're pretty tired. From 7am you're switched on, ready, and the kettle hasn't even boiled yet.

We say 'it's a hard life' with such sarcasm, but in your case, it jolly well is. No one likes to stare at invoices piled high or manage the budgets, but someone's got to do it, and well that someone is you. Some people find it impossible to be cheerful from morning 'til noon, but that's part of your job description isn't it? Then the phone rings and a Teacher is sick. It's always fun trying to call supply agencies with kids at the front counter, teachers running copies next to your desk, other phone calls, the doorbell ringing for admittance to the building, late arrivals and parents with questions.

Then there's typing with your eyes closed, a trick that serves you well on an every day basis. Knowing a keyboard like the back of your hand is something that comes naturally when you're constantly maintaining school records, contributing to planning/policies and organising next months events that seem to have crept up on us all. We should probably note that this will be done with one hand, the other is holding a sandwich which was meant to be eaten at lunch two hours ago...

Schools are constantly undergoing change, and a constant is needed. You are the constant in the school like so many other administrative staff. Every child knows you; every parent knows you; and, of course, every teacher knows you. Each day of the week is a busy one, so attention to details is a must, as is multitasking, you have this down to a T. Many people will presume that you spend your whole day behind a desk, but that's only the half of it, we're pretty sure you'd give a hamster on its wheel a run for its money (if you had the time).

When a priority comes up, you help us reprioritize everything; if we had to do these jobs ourselves things would fall through the cracks – big things and well you just would never let that happen. At the end of the day, what needs doing is always done. We can carry on with our own jobs safely knowing that everything is under control, and that is extremely important in any industry, nevermind education. It's quite easy to take the tasks that you do for granted when there are so many elements to a school, but we want to remind you that without your skills and constant dedication, we just would cease to cope.  You super powers make you unique in business and that is why support staff are so heavily relied upon.

It is too easy to lose sight and sanity in this line of work...

But remind yourself that we don't and won't forget about you, and hopefully this will give many others the reminder not to either.

Bottom line, no one is “just” part of the school administrative team, there is far more to a school than its pupils and Teachers.