. This role does not offer visa sponsorship.
At The Holden School, food is about more than just eating—it’s about care, routine, wellbeing, and connection. We’re looking for a friendly, reliable, and enthusiastic Catering Assistant to join our kitchen team and help deliver nutritious, freshly prepared meals that support our pupils’ health, happiness, and learning.
If you take pride in good food, teamwork, and making a positive difference every day, this could be the perfect role for you.
About the Role
As a Catering Assistant, you’ll play a key role in creating a warm, safe, and enjoyable lunchtime experience for our pupils. You’ll support the preparation, cooking, and serving of healthy meals, ensuring dietary needs are met and that every child feels comfortable and supported during mealtimes.
Working as part of a friendly and supportive kitchen team, you’ll help keep everything running smoothly—maintaining excellent hygiene standards, following food safety regulations, and contributing to a calm, welcoming dining environment.
You’ll also interact with pupils daily, offering encouragement and gentle guidance while helping uphold the school’s expectations around behaviour, wellbeing, and respect.
Key Responsibilities
1. Support the preparation, cooking, and serving of meals, including special dietary requirements
2. Maintain high standards of cleanliness across the kitchen, equipment, and dining areas
3. Assist with clearing, washing up, and cleaning after meal service
4. Provide cover during staff absences to ensure continuity of service
5. Monitor food supplies, report shortages, and record changes to meal numbers
6. Follow all health, safety, and food hygiene regulations at all times
7. Support lunchtime supervision to ensure pupils are safe, calm, and supported
8. Share relevant behaviour observations with teaching staff to promote a positive school environment
What We’re Looking For
9. A team player with a positive, can-do attitude
10. Someone who takes pride in cleanliness, organisation, and high standards
11. Confidence communicating in English with pupils, staff, and visitors
12. A commitment to safeguarding, equality, and the values of the school
13. Willingness to attend training and team meetings as required
About Us
The Holden School is an independent specialist day school for boys and girls aged from 5 to 16, catering for pupils with a wide range of needs in Lancashire, Manchester and surrounding areas. Our dedicated team work together to ensure successful outcomes for pupils who often arrive at the school with a troubled view of education and life. We are a Therapeutic Led, Trauma Informed School providing individualised curriculums for our students supported by our Class Teams, our Pastoral Team and our own Therapists.
We pride ourselves in steering pupils in the right direction, nurturing aspiration to progress them academically and socially, to encourage them to take pride in their achievements. Socially, we build confidence in our students, so they are able to have a greater understanding of the wider community in which they live.
We are part of Acorn Education and can offer plenty of challenges along with a wide range of opportunities to develop your career. Acorn Education is the UK’s leading provider of specialist education for children and young people with special educational needs. As part of Outcomes First Group, we are leading our sector in creating and delivering innovative approaches that achieve measurable outcomes for those in our care.
We are really proud to say that in 2025, Outcomes First Group were officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the sixth year running.
Why join Acorn Education?
We place the outcomes of the pupils and vulnerable young adults in our services at the heart of everything we do, so you’ll wake every day in the knowledge that your role will have a significant positive impact on the lives of others.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils and young people. All applicants will be subject to social media checks and successful applicants to a fully enhanced DBS.
Benefits
Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including:
14. Life Assurance
15. Pension scheme with options to increase your contributions
16. “Your Wellbeing Matters” – access to a wide range of first-class mental health support services and physical health checks
And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you, including:
17. A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits
18. 100’s of discount options valid in the UK and abroad
19. Cycle to Work Schemes
20. Electric Car Purchase Scheme
21. Critical illness cover
22. Family Growth Support - inclusive benefits package covering enhanced maternity and paternity leave, along with paid fertility treatment support.
We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.
*You’ll work 80% of your contractual hours for 100% of your pay, giving you more time to do the things that make you happy. 4DWW is subject to successful completion of probation and is not a contractual benefit
Outcomes First Group is committed to carrying out a fair, thorough and efficient recruitment process in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education. Whilst we aim to keep applicants informed throughout, Outcomes First Group does not accept liability for any loss of earnings or other associated costs incurred by applicants as a result of delays or changes in the compliance process. All stages of the compliance process are subject to necessary safeguarding checks and compliance with statutory requirements, which may affect timescales.
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