Cook In Charge

Witherslack Group Ltd.; Lancaster; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 24,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses and benefits

Job summary

Witherslack Group Ltd. is seeking a school kitchen lead to plan menus, supervise a kitchen team and ensure healthy meals for students, staff and visitors.

The role emphasizes budgeting, ordering in bulk and adherence to food hygiene standards, all while operating within term-time with full school holidays. You will be at the heart of our education catering team, delivering nutrition and stability for young people.

Qualifications

• Level 3 qualification in Food Safety in Catering (or equivalent).
• Experience running a kitchen and ordering is essential.
• Able to plan menus and manage budgets.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and serve nutritious meals for students, staff and visitors.
• Supervise kitchen team and manage ordering and stock.
• Ensure compliance with food hygiene regulations and nutritional standards.
• Work term-time only with school holidays.

Skills

Team supervision

Menu planning

Budgeting

Food ordering

Education

Level 3 Food Safety in Catering

Job description

Please Note : This is a term time only role with full school holidays.

Experience of running a kitchen and ordering is essential . The shifts start at 6:30-7:00 to allow this time for ordering.

Huge Small Victories

Being a cook in our school means being part of something big. You’ll be working at the heart of the school, preparing and serving tasty, nutritious food to our young people, staff and visitors

Get out what you put in

You’ll supervise a skilled team and plan nutritious menus for our young people. You’ll also need to make sure that the school meets food hygiene regulations and nutritional standards. Being a cook in charge at our schools means you’ll get to build fantastic relationships with all of our staff and young people, by doing what you do best.

One of the best environments in SEND

“Changing Lives, Building Futures” - We really do make a difference at Cedar House School

Enabling young people to progress and succeed is part of the DNA of our integrated education, care, and clinical team and this is achieved by a commitment to truly celebrating the individuality and talents of every young person.

The primary provision provides a nurturing environment which along with extensive therapeutic support allows a seamless transition to a secondary school that boasts a broad curriculum and far-ranging vocational offer. In addition, the state-of-the‑art residential offering enables those young people who reside at the school to benefit from the 24‑hour curriculum, while living in a truly homely and personalised environment.

The result is that each young person develops the skills and confidence to achieve both academic and life successes, where they are given the launchpad to realise their potential and leave ready to live life to the full. We were recently recognised as Good in Education and Outstanding for our Residential provision.

What we do for you

We know you’re going to do great things. For your hard work and commitment, we reward you with the best salary and benefits package in the education sector. With us, you’ll get to bring learning to life and make a genuine difference to the lives of our young people – plus you’ll get:

Training: A full induction and on the job training

Holiday: You’ll work hard at WG, so you’ll be rewarded with full school holidays

Flexible benefits: meaning you can increase/decrease benefits such as life insurance – check out our benefitshere

Wellbeing: a host of wellbeing tools and advice including employee assistance

Medical cover so you can claim back the cost of things like an opticians or dentist appointment and a host of high‑street discounts

Beautiful working environments with the very best facilities – check out our schoolshere

A recommend a friend scheme that offers a £1,000 bonus every time

Bring your whole‑self to work

Our young people come from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds and with different needs – and our workforce reflects that diversity, so that our teams can engage, encourage and inspire our
young people to be themselves. The kind of person we’re looking for will:

Have a Level 3 qualification in Food Safety in Catering (or equivalent)

Be organised and have the ability to plan menus

Have experience budgeting for each meal and ordering in bulk

Interested in joining us?

At Witherslack Group, inclusion is part of who we are. We’re committed to creating an environment where everyone feels respected, valued and that they truly belong.

As a specialist provider of education and care for children and young people with special educational needs, we understand the importance of embracing individuality and championing difference- especially when it comes to neurodiversity. We celebrate diverse perspectives, lived experiences, and the unique strengths that each person brings to our community.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities.

We are proud to be recognised as an inclusive employer and are committed to making our recruitment and workplace practices inclusive and accessible. If you need any adjustments to support you through the recruitment process or in the workplace, we’ll be there every step of the way.

By building a diverse and inclusive team, we’re better able to support the children, young people and families we serve and ensure every member of our team can thrive, grow, and be their authentic self.

We are an equal opportunities employer welcoming applications from all sections of the community.

The Witherslack Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its young people. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check (we will cover the cost) and an online search.