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Job Title: School Chef
Location: Hazel Cottage School, Clinkham Wood, St Helens, WA11 7AP
Hours: 37.5 hours per week | Monday to Friday
Salary: £22,160.62 per annum (not pro rata)
Contract: Permanent | Term Time Only
Start: September 2026
About the Role
Are you passionate about creating nutritious, delicious meals that make a real difference in children’s lives? Do you thrive in a busy kitchen where quality, safety, and teamwork come first? If so, we’d love to hear from you.
We are looking for a dedicated School Chef/Cook to lead our kitchen and deliver an exceptional catering service for our Centre. This is a rewarding role where your food will fuel learning, wellbeing, and joy every single day.
This will be for St Helen's Site.
What you will be doing
- Plan and prepare balanced, high‑quality menus tailored to Service Users’ dietary needs
- Provide meals for staff and children with specific dietary requirements
- Monitor stock, portion control, and food quality while staying within budget
- Maintain a clean, safe, and well‑organised kitchen to the highest standards
- Reduce waste through effective planning and careful preparation
- Check and meet daily meal requirements for visitors, staff, and Service Users
- Follow all Health & Safety, hygiene, food safety, and COSHH regulations, reporting issues promptly
- Manage suppliers: place orders, check deliveries, verify invoices, and resolve queries professionally
Who we’re looking for:
- Food Hygiene Level 2/3 desirable
- Experience in a school/nursery kitchen would be desirable
- A skilled cook with experience in a school, care, or high‑volume catering environment
- Someone who loves creating nutritious meals for children
- A natural team leader with strong communication skills
- A person who values safety, organisation, and high standards
- Someone flexible, reliable, and committed to excellent service
About Us
Hazel Cottage is a new school meeting the needs of autistic pupils aged 4 – 11 years who may have additional needs.
We are situated in St Helens in the former St Patricks Church. At Hazel Cottage everything we do is centred around the individual needs of each pupil attending our school, with the aim that every learner is able to fulfil their individual potential and thrive. Alongside a broad, exciting and memorable curriculum, we focus on developing core life skills such as communication and social interaction, sensory processing and emotional regulation. We work towards every pupil being as independent as possible when they move on to the next stage of their education.
For over 19 years, Options Autism has provided specialist care and education for children, young people, and adults with autism, complex needs, and learning difficulties. As part of Outcomes First Group, we are pioneering innovative, evidence-based approaches that deliver meaningful, measurable outcomes for everyone 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 Us?
We place pupils and vulnerable young adults at the heart of everything we do, so every day brings the satisfaction of making a real difference. We are committed to the 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.
- Life Assurance
- Pension scheme with options to increase contributions
- “Your Wellbeing Matters” – mental health support and physical health checks
- Flexible Benefits Platform (Vista), including:
- Health, wellbeing and insurance benefits
- Hundreds of UK and international discounts
- Cycle to Work Scheme & Electric Car Purchase Scheme
- Critical illness cover
- Family Growth Support, including enhanced maternity/paternity leave and paid fertility treatment support
We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.
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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