School Catering Assistant (Sir Robert Woodard Academy)

Salary: £12.85 per hour, equivalent to an actual salary of £9,331 per annum

Contract type: Permanent

Working pattern: Part-time, term-time plus inset days

Closing date: 05 January 2026

Interview date: w/c 12 January 2026

How to apply: If you are interested, please apply online on our website before the closing date* demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the essential requirements of the role - Catering Assistant at The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, Sompting, West Sussex | MyNewTerm

CVs alone will not be accepted.

Please note we reserve the right to interview and appoint any strong candidates applying before the deadline has passed and to close the advert at any time before the deadline date, should a sufficient number of strong applications be received. If you are interested, then you are advised to apply early.

Catering Assistant

16 hours per week – Monday to Friday

Daily hours: 11:00am-2.30pm (Including 15 minute unpaid break)

School Term time and inset days (39 weeks)

An exciting opportunity has arisen at The Sir Robert Woodard Academy in Lancing, for a reliable and efficient Catering Assistant to join our busy catering team as soon as possible.

The School

The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, one of the ‘happiest’ schools in the country (The Sunday Times, 2025) and part of the Woodard family of schools, is a thriving 11–18 Academy serving primarily the students of Lancing, Sompting and West Shoreham, though we welcome students from all surrounding areas. We are committed to ensuring that every student is known and nurtured and is provided with teaching and learning experiences that allow them to fulfil their potential.

Quotes from full Ofsted inspection report October 2021 - Rating of “Good” in all areas:

"The school is a calm and orderly place for pupils to learn….Pupils treat each other with respect … low-level disruption is rare."

"Pupils, parents and carers feel proud of their school…one parent told us ‘we are really impressed with the school, the ethos and the staff’.”

The Position

The canteen is the heart of our school, where our friendly, skilled and dedicated catering team provide healthy, nutritious meals (cooked from scratch) to students and staff, using innovative menus. Our school meals are very popular with both students and staff at all levels.

This is a wonderful opportunity to join a close-knit, supportive, catering team, who have a strong, shared purpose and a collective commitment to supporting students and staff with nourishing meals to help them thrive and succeed. Daily duties will include stocking up, clearing away, cleaning, washing up and operating the till. Training will be provided to support food preparation as additional support for the kitchen when there is staff absence or cover needed. This is a physical role, so a good level of fitness, flexibility and dexterity is essential; the role involves standing for long periods, bending, stretching, twisting, kneeling, squatting and being able to lift, carry, push and/or pull loads weighing up to 10kg; the ability to cope with exposure to extremes of temperature is also required. Flexibility to cover additional hours when needed is desirable.

The position is permanent: during term time and all inset days, working over 39 weeks of the year. Please review the job description for further details on the role responsibilities.

Benefits:

• modern and spacious working environment

• free use of the Academy’s fitness suite

• free employee wellness programme and onsite wellbeing support

• generous employer contribution pension scheme of 18.9%

• free on-site parking and easy access to local public transport

• cycle to work scheme.

The Person

At SRWA, our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with wellbeing support, coaching, mentoring and a wide range of top-quality training and CPD programmes delivered at every level up to senior leadership.

A Staff Well-being survey in May 2025 revealed our staff consider these areas ‘outstanding’:

• Staff morale and job satisfaction

• Support from line managers and colleagues

• Caring teachers

• Appreciation of staff contribution and opportunities for staff to develop.

We are looking for someone who is self-motivated and enthusiastic, with a positive ‘can do’ approach; someone who is comfortable receiving direction and adapting to changing priorities - sometimes at short notice. You must be able to work efficiently and flexibly in order to contribute to the busy, team environment. The successful candidate will be physically fit and able to perform all aspects of this role, which includes bending, lifting etc.; they will display a friendly and professional manner at all times, especially in communications with students and staff. Competent IT skills are essential in order to complete required safeguarding and role related training online. An understanding of health and safety, allergens and COSHH are required. Please review the person specification for further details on the skills and attributes required of the post-holder.

Our commitment to Safeguarding:

The Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share in this commitment. All posts will be subject to full safeguarding and vetting checks, including the receipt of two satisfactory references. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a criminal record self-declaration form and to give consent for an online search to be carried out against their name.

The successful applicant for this post will be engaging in ‘regulated activity’, therefore they will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check. It is an offence to apply for this role if the applicant is barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children, so individuals on the children’s barred list (and adults barred list where relevant) should not apply.

Please be aware that the Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check will reveal both spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings, and any other information held by local police that is considered relevant to the role, unless any such information is ‘protected’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended). If you are unsure, please visit this URL: https://www.gov.uk/tell-employer-or-college-about-criminal-record

There is a six-month probation period for all post-holders.

Our Commitment to Equal Opportunities:

The Academy is committed to equality of opportunity. We positively welcome applications from suitably qualified individuals from all sections of the community.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at our Academy is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.