School Chef

St John's Church School, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE2 5SP

20 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  1st June or as soon as possible after this date

• Closing date

  18 May 2026 at 12pm (midday)

• Date listed

  28 April 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Catering, cleaning and site management
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £28,598.00 - £30,024.00 Annually (FTE) Term time + 2 weeks during the summer holiday

School Chef job summary

Post title: School Chef

Location: St John’s Church School

Grade: Grade 7

Hours: 7.15am - 2.30pm, with a 15 min break (35 hrs / wk)

Term time only + 2 weeks during the summer holiday

Responsible to: Head of School

Start date As soon as possible

Are you passionate about food, children’s wellbeing and leading a small team to deliver a high-quality service?

St John’s Church School is seeking a skilled and enthusiastic School Chef to lead our kitchen team, bringing creativity, strong culinary standards and a passion for nutritious food for children.

This is a hands-on leadership role, combining food preparation, team management and compliance, with the opportunity to make a real difference to children’s daily experience in school.

We are looking for someone who will:

• Lead and support our kitchen team with warmth, professionalism and high standards

• Plan, prepare and deliver healthy, appealing and compliant meals in line with School Food Standards, bringing creativity and quality to school food.

• Maintain excellent food hygiene, allergen management and safety practices

• Manage ordering, stock control and budgets efficiently

• Create a positive dining experience for pupils and staff

• Work collaboratively with catering colleagues across our federation to share menus, recipes, ideas and best practice and to help secure value through joint work with suppliers

• Contribute to the caring, values-led ethos of our school community

The successful candidate will be a qualified and experienced chef (ideally with school or large-scale catering experience), with strong knowledge of food safety, allergen management, menu planning and the ability to lead a small team effectively.

At St John’s, we believe lunchtime is an important part of the school day and we are proud of the role our kitchen plays in supporting children to flourish. As part of our wider federation, this role also offers the opportunity to work alongside other school chefs and cooks in a supportive professional network, developing menus together, sharing expertise and shaping our catering provision collectively.

We can offer:

• A welcoming and supportive team

• Well-equipped kitchen facilities

• Opportunities for training and development

• Collaborative working with catering colleagues across our federation

• The chance to contribute to a school community rooted in care, service and high expectations

• An opportunity to help shape a fresh, child-centred approach to school food

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About St John's Church School

• School type: Local authority maintained school, Church of England, ages 2 to 11
• Education phase: Primary school
• School size: 465 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 2 to 11
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: St John's Church School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/st-john-s-church-school

School location

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