Catering Assistant - Herons Dale

West Sussex County Council; Shoreham-by-Sea; On-site; GBP 11,000 - 14,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Local government pension

Maternity/paternity leave

Employee discounts (West SussexChoices

Training & mentoring

Health & wellbeing programme

Job summary

West Sussex County Council is seeking a Catering Assistant at Herons Dale Primary School, Shoreham-by-Sea. The role supports pupils by preparing healthy, nutritious meals and fostering life skills during mealtimes.

It is a part-time, term-time-only position (39 weeks) with duties covering kitchen prep, cooking, and cleaning while upholding high hygiene and safety standards. A Level 2 Food Safety certificate and strong customer service are preferred.

Qualifications

• Experience in catering with good customer service.
• Level 2 Food Safety Certificate or understanding of Food Safety.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Basic literacy and numeracy.
• Experience with Health & Safety procedures in a commercial setting.
• Understanding the needs of young people with SEND.
• Genuine passion for promoting healthy eating.

Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day kitchen operations including prep, cooking, and cleaning to required standards.
• Maintain hygiene and safety measures across the kitchen.
• Thrive in a busy environment and support colleagues to maintain high standards.
• Handle regular lifting, moving and operating large equipment.
• Follow written Health & Safety and Food Safety documentation.

Skills

Customer service

Food safety Level 2

Communication (written & verbal)

Literacy & numeracy

Health & safety procedures

SEND awareness

Healthy eating promotion

Job description

Salary:£12,673per annum pro rata calculated frompart-timehours and term time onlyContract Type:Permanent, Term Time Only (39 weekswhich includes5 cleaning days)

Working Pattern:Part time,21.25hours per week(Monday to Friday 9.45am – 2.00pm)

Location:Herons Dale Primary School, Hawkins Cres, Shoreham-by-Sea BN43 6TN

We’relooking for a Catering Assistant to join us atHerons Dale School, supporting pupils by preparing healthy, nutritious food and encouraging valuable life skills along the way.

Your role as a Catering Assistant goes beyond just preparing homemade meals. You will also create a welcoming atmosphere and provide exceptional service, using your friendly and approachable nature to make sure students feel valued and cared for at mealtimes.

There will be some key responsibilities likely to feature in this role, including:

• Support the day-to-day operation of the kitchen including preparation, cooking, and cleaning to the required standards, ensuring hygiene and safety measure aremaintained.
• Thriving in busy environment and support colleagues tomaintainhigh professional standards.
• This is an active role, which includes regularly lifting, moving, and handling large equipment.
• Followwritten documentation for Health & Safety and Food Safety legislationand business requirements.

With a term time only contract that allows a work/life balance, great pension plus a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers.There’snever been a better time to join!

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• Experience in, catering with goodcustomer service, includingstrongwritten and verbal communication.
• Good at communicatingand can connect well with children and staff.
• Level 2 Food Safety Certificate, or an understanding of Food Safety.
• Basic literacy and numeracy skills.
• Experience with Health & Safety procedures in a commercial setting.
• An understanding for the differing needs of young people with special educational needs.
• A genuine passion for promotinghealthy and balanced eating.

No candidate will meet every single desired qualification. If your experience looks a little different from whatwe'veidentifiedand you think you can bring value to the role,we'dlove to learn more about you!

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experiencerequired, please refer to the Job Description attachedand reference these in your application form.

What to expect from working with us

• Term Time Only (TTO) contract where you will work during periods in which schools are openplus anadditional5 days for cleaning.
• Excellent work-life balance with evenings, weekends, and bank holidays off.
• Supportive and welcoming team environment.
• Anexcellent local government pension scheme
• Maternity, paternity,dependencyand adoption leave
• Arange of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high streetretailersand the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• Health and wellbeing benefits include access to our Employee Assistance Programme,Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans.

For a full list this can be found atour Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is 115.

For an informal conversation or for further informationregardingthe role, please contact Helen Turner at [e-mail] For an informal conversation regarding the application process, please contact Rachael Doolan(RecruitmentSpecialist)at [e-mail]

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, youngpeopleand vulnerable adults. This post is subject toright to work within the UK,enhancedDisclosure and Barring Service (DBS)check, satisfactoryreferences,and health check.

Equity,inclusionand accessibility isvery importantto West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

Weoperatea guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.