Science Technician Pay Range: Grade C SCP 3-4 Hours: 30 hours per week, term time only plus 2 inset days Approximate starting salary: £24,796 (FTE) Actual Salary: £15,673 Deadline: 8am, Monday 1st December 2025 Start Date: 5th January 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter We are seeking an exceptional candidate with the energy, passion and creativity to work as a Science Technician in the Science Department of our thriving All-Through school. The role is for 30 hours per week, 8.00am-2.30pm Monday to Friday (including a 30 minutes lunch break). CFS is a vibrant, collaborative and forward thinking school for 4-16 year olds, where the personal development of our pupils is just as important as the academic curriculum. Our values of ‘nurture, challenge and inspire’ influence everything we do as a school, and genuinely permeate all areas of school life. If you share our values and ideals, we strongly encourage you to find out more about CFS via a visit to the school or through our school website www.chichesterfreeschool.org.uk. Ideally, the successful candidate will have previous school experience, and will be committed to embracing the unique and special environment and opportunities of working in an All-Through school. CFS follows national pay scales and the starting point within the range listed will be agreed on appointment with the successful candidate. The School CFS is now entering its second decade and is fully established in our state-of-the-art facilities on the Carmelite Convent Site in the south of Chichester. Our PAN is 60 in Primary, and 120 in Secondary; in almost all year groups we are oversubscribed with waiting lists. Due to demand, we have a bulge intake of Year 9 who started in September 2023, with over 150 pupils currently on roll in this year group, and a similar sized cohort joined us in September 2025 – again, due to the school’s popularity. The School joined Sussex Learning Trust in September 2023 – a move that we personally initiated through the desire to collaborate with a like-minded family of schools. The Trust is currently small and based in Haywards Heath; CFS are well placed to launch a new Western Region of the Trust, which is really exciting. As a Free School, we are the same as any other academy; we are both held and hold ourselves to the same exacting and rigorous standards as all state-funded schools. We follow the national curriculum, and are proud of our ambitious, inclusive and varied curriculum offer. Our pupils engage with SATs and GCSE assessments. In May 2024 we received a very strong fully graded Ofsted Inspection – we were graded at least a strong Good in all areas and Outstanding in Personal Development. As a school we are now striving for excellence in all areas, and to achieve above average outcomes in both phases. CFS is open to pupils of all abilities. We take part in the West Sussex County Council (WSCC) admissions process. As a school we benefit from longer holidays, specifically at October half term, Christmas and during the summer. The Science Team Our Science department consists of five specialist teachers and two technicians, housed in five bright and high- ceilinged labs, along with two specialist preparation rooms. The Secondary Science team work closely with the Primary phase, who also use practical work to support pupils’ learning. As a department we are committed to improving outcomes and sparking interest. The required science practicals are only a small part of the number of practical lessons that occur throughout the year. As a team, we value the importance of practical work and support pupils to apply their learning to practical investigations. The Role The successful candidate will be expected to provide assistance in the preparation of resources for practical classes, with duties including: • preparation of resources, including assembling apparatus • ensuring safe storage and transit of resources • stock taking, ordering resources • maintaining a healthy, safe and productive environment in the school’s preparation rooms and laboratories • record keeping You will be an excellent team player, keen to learn, and able to work under pressure and to deadlines. Ideally, you should have experience of practical science. You will: • be a skilled and competent professional who is energetic and totally committed to the ethos of CFS • readily establish excellent relationships with both staff and pupils • have an up-to-date awareness of current issues and challenges in education • possess drive, expertise and enthusiasm • possess an optimistic and resilient style when faced with pressure • be able to communicate well with children and young people, having an understanding of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people All staff at CFS commit to fully contributing to the ethos and life of the School in and outside the classroom. CFS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. In accordance with our Child Protection Policy we are unable to process applications without a fully completed application form. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. All convictions, cautions and bind-overs, including those regarded as ‘spent’ must be declared when applying. The applicant may post such a declaration in an envelope marked ‘Private & confidential for the Executive Principal’. The successful applicant must obtain List 99 clearance and DBS clearance at enhanced level. The Recruitment Process For further information and an informal discussion about this post, please do not hesitate to contact us via recruitment@chichesterfreeschool.org.uk or on 01243 792690. Applications and additional information can be found on our website https://www.chichesterfreeschool.org.uk/recruitment/ Candidates should complete an application form and supporting statement addressing the criteria presented in the role description and person specification. Completed applications should be sent to recruitment@chichesterfreeschool.org.uk by 8am, Monday 1st December 2025. Early applications are encouraged, and we reserve the right to interview and appoint prior to this deadline. A formal contract will be issued once the successful applicant has been appointed. It will be offered subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly CRB) check.