School Cook

Overview

The Windmill School would like to appoint a School Cook to prepare and cook healthy and nutritious meals for our autistic students in our brand-new state-of-the-art kitchen. Working with the Headteacher, you will be responsible for devising menus which cater for sensory needs, adhere to nutritional standards for school meals, comply with health and safety legislation, working within a fixed budget.

We are a special free school for autistic students aged 4 – 19 years. The school is expanding rapidly, with 40 students on roll from September 2024 and we are planning to reach our full capacity of 90 students over the next few years. As part of the wider Barnet Special Education Trust, we are also intending to offer our SEN adult learners access to meaningful work experience opportunities within the Windmill School kitchen. At this stage in the expansion of the school, you will be working alone to cater for the students on roll who are choosing to have a school meal. As the school continues to expand, you will have management responsibility for any additional kitchen staff hired.

Personal attributes

Previous catering experience within a commercial kitchen- ideally within a school kitchen setting
Awareness of school nutritional standards.
Health and Safety hygiene accreditation and appropriate food handling and storage qualifications
Experience of ordering food and catering supplies, working within a set budget.
The ability to think flexibly and creatively about menu options that meet national nutritional standards, whilst catering to the needs of young people with sensory issues.
Excellent interpersonal and communications skills and resilience.
A child centred approach to pupil well-being.

Salary & Benefits

Salary: Scale Point 30 - 34 (pro rata salary from £22,517 to £24,826)

Hours/weeks: 22.5 hours per week (Mon- Friday 10am to 2.30pm) working 41 weeks (paid for 46 weeks) including 39 weeks of term time and two weeks during school holidays for preparation, menu planning, administration, training and deep cleaning.

We offer you the opportunity to work with amazing young people and be part of a committed and dedicated staff team who place student wellbeing at the forefront of practice. You will have access to a newly installed catering kitchen with brand new equipment and The Windmill School is ideally located for public transport links. This position might be well suited to people who have parent/carer responsibilities for school-age children due to the mainly term time only on site commitment and part time hours that fit around school pick-up and drop off. Barnet Special Education Trust is a community where all staff feel happy, valued and supported. All Trust employees have free access to our Employee Assistance Provider.

Location

The Windmill School
Moxon Street
Barnet
Herts
EN5 5TS

Supporting documents

Deadline and how to apply

The start date for this position is Monday 4^th November 2024 (or sooner for the right candidate). You are more than welcome to visit the school prior to applying. Please contact the school office to arrange this on 020 3062 3600.

Completed application forms should be returned to the school to vacancies@bsentrust.org by Tuesday 8^th October 2024. Interviews will be held the following week.

Unfortunately we are currently unable to offer sponsorship.

Equal opportunities

Equality Policy

Barnet Special Education Trust are fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All of our posts are subject to an enhanced DBS check due to working with children, young people and vulnerable adults (you are applying for a position working in regulated activity). In order to be successful in your application you will be subject to a rigorous safer recruitment process. An online search will be undertaken on all shortlisted candidates. This search does not form part of the shortlisting process and you will have the opportunity to discuss any issues of concern that may arise from this search at the interview. Barnet Special Education Trust employees must adhere to a strict code of conduct regarding behaviour at all times. Barnet Special Education Trust is an equal opportunities employer.

Job reference: 2024/15