School Cook

Full Job Description

Job Title:             School Cook

Salary:                 £21,000 per annum

Location:             The Shires – Stretton

Hours:                 40 hours per week; Monday - Friday

Contract:             Permanent

If you really want to make your mark in a rapidly growing business that is committed to improving the lives of young children and young people, we have the role for you!

We're looking for a School Cook to join our team at The Shires. Someone with previous experience of catering for large amounts of people as well as previous experience managing would be perfect for this role.

About the School

The Shires consists of four sites all within a 15 minute drive of one another. This position would be based at The Shires in Stretton which is a Special Educational Needs (SEN) School and Children’s Residential home within the Acorn Care and Education and NFA Group.

The ethos of The Shires is very much characterised by a ‘can do’ attitude. Staff share the value of creating a home-from-home for children that reflects a family atmosphere, and cater for the children on an individual basis and ensure they are well-supported.

About the Group

We are part of the Acorn Care and Education and can promise you plenty of challenges, and a rich variety of opportunities to develop your career.

Acorn Care and Education provide education and care across 20 schools and 19 residential care homes nationally. Our vision is to build incredible futures by empowering vulnerable young people in the UK to be happy and make their way in the world. Every day we improve the lives of thousands of young people, their families and communities through relentless focus on caring and learning.

About the Role

The School Cook will be responsible for managing the cooks across both The Shires at Stretton and the Shires at Oakham so will have to be flexible and able to work across both sites. They will report to the Business Service Manager who will have monthly meetings with them to monitor the food budgets, any feedback given, and the hygiene and maintenance of the kitchen. This role is essential for guaranteeing the children in the homes are fed nutrition food that they enjoy. In this role you will need to have a good understanding of food and hygiene which you are responsible for keeping up to date.  

Who we are looking for

We are looking for an individual who enjoys cooking for other people. You should have great understanding of food and hygiene and be willing to keep up to date with it. To excel in this position, you need to have excellent people skills and ideally some experience in managing others. You will need to be computer literate as you will need to oversee the ordering and keep a good grip on the food budgets across The Shires sites.

Key Accountabilities:

• To develop and follow agreed menu plans which meet the needs of each student as outlined in their health and nutrition plan.
• To maintain high standards of hygiene and cleanliness in the kitchen areas and to ensure that kitchen utensils, crockery and cookware are in good order
• To make arrangements for the maintenance and repair of kitchen equipment as authorised by the Business Service Manager and to report any faults or malfunctions as soon as possible to the Business Service Manager.
• To direct the work of the cooks, including managing any holidays and sick cover.
• To ensure that the kitchen and its activities are run with full regard to current health and safety, environmental health and food hygiene standards at all times, including statutory and recommended record keeping

Why work for us

• Social activities
• "Your Wellbeing Matters"
• Employee Rewards Hub
• Pension
• Free School meals on site
• No two days are ever the same
• Be part of a fantastic team who work hard together and support each other
• Opportunity to enrich the lives of young people and make a positive difference
• Continuous professional development and training for a clear career path

For over 16 years Options Autism have provided care and education to children, young people and adults with autism, complex needs and learning difficulties. As part of Outcomes First Group we are leading our sector in setting and delivering new approaches that provide measurable outcomes for those in our care.

We expect all our employees and volunteers to share this commitment and strive to achieve the best outcome possible for everybody in our care. A full application form must be completed with all employment dates accurate and gaps in employment accounted for.