Chef

The Opportunity

CHEF

We are looking to appoint an experienced Chef to join our fatanstic Catering team. The chef is responsbile for the planning, preparation and presentation of high quality meals to pupils, staff, parents and visitiors, as well as catering for events across the School.

Terms:                        Full or Part Time working available, working Monday to Friday, either 11am-7pm or 2pm-7pm, term time only, including INSET days

Salary:                        Circa £23,000.00 for Full Time, circa £15,325.00 for Part Time (£31,375.50 FTE)

Closing Date:             28 September 2026.

(Due to the needs of the School and department, we may interview suitable candidates before the closing date and we reserve the right to appoint a strong candidate before such date. You are advised and welcomed to submit your application as early as possible.)

The Opportunity:

In this role, you will assist in the delivery of the food service provision for pupils and staff, as well as catering for functions and events across the school. You will work alongside the Chef Manager, Deputy Chef Manager and Catering Assistants and will be responsible for supervising the catering function for the boarders in the evening.

It is essential that the school’s Catering Department operates at the highest standard to ensure that the pupils enjoy meals that are planned with great care, prepared with skill and of course taste delicious. We look for high quality food, which is home-made using quality, fresh ingredients.

Responsbilites:

• To be a hands-on chef, ensuring a smooth, seamless service is provided
• To prepare food to an exceptionally high standard
• To be responsible for supervising the catering function for the boarders in the evening
• To work closely with the Chef Manager and the Catering team to ensure high standards of food quality, safety and dietary compliance
• To assist with the monitoring of food production and wastage
• To provide supervision to other staff working within the kitchen as required
• To liaise effectively with the Chef Manager, Deputy Chef Manager and the Kitchen Assistants in the catering team to establish good communication, share best practice and ensure the department delivers the required level of service at all times
• To work with all catering staff and undertake such duties in the kitchen/service areas, as required, to ensure an efficient and effective service is delivered at all times
• To provide occassional hospitality support with special functions that take place in the school for visitors, parents and VIP guests
• To receive stock and check quality and quantity against the delivery note/invoice. To put deliveries of stock away ensuring that all stock is dated and rotated appropriately
• To ensure that all kitchen and ancillary areas are kept spotlessly clean and tidy
• To report any faults to the Chef Manager
• To adhere to all statutory regulations relating to Food Safety, Health & Safety, safe working practices, hygiene, cleanliness, fire and COSHH.

About you:

• Previous experience of Education or Independent School catering would be desirable but not essential.
• A reliable, flexible chef who is calm under pressure and thrives in an independent working environment
• Understanding of special diets, allergen protocols, and food labelling legislation
• Strong communication skills and the ability to follow direction
• A positive attitude and collaborative spirit – you’re a team player who takes pride in quality service
• Willingness to engage with the broader life of the residence when appropriate
• Level 2/3 Food Hygiene Certificate
• HACCP or allergen management training desirable
• NVQ or equivalent Chef qualifications.

The duties and responsibilities of this post may vary from time to time and post holders may be expected to undertake other duties of a similar level/nature which is considered appropriate to the level of the post.

We can offer:

• Competetive salary
• Membership of support staff pension scheme
• Use of school facilites – swimming pool and sports facilities, subsidised staff yoga class
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Employee Assistantance Programme
• On-site Parking

About the School:

Westbourne House is situated just to the east of Chichester in beautiful grounds of over 100 acres. There are approximately 110 employees and 280 pupils, aged 2½ -13. Most children go on to major Public Schools across the South.

The school enjoys outstanding facilities. Teaching is extremely well resourced with excellent teaching rooms, the majority equipped with interactive whiteboards; there are also sets of laptops which can be booked for class based work. There are rooms for Art, Ceramics, ICT, Design Technology and Food Technology, a separate Science block and Music School, as well as a modern, 300 seat theatre/assembly hall. The School also has a large (30 acre) lake on the north boundary for kayaking.

Academic standards are high, with consistently outstanding Common Entrance results together with an excellent scholarship record; totalling 140 over the last five years.

Westbourne House uses the High Performance Learning philosophy to guide all pupils in becoming good learners. The school believes that all pupils have the potential to perform at the highest level regardless of their current performance level. The Advanced Cognitive Performance Characteristics (ACPs) and Values, Attitudes and Attributes (VAAs) of HPL are the “thinking” and “behaviour” characteristic and these are delivered specifically and systematically throughout the curriculum.

The Music and Drama departments also excel consistently: all children are involved in school productions, a large number are members of school choirs and there are regular concerts.

Saturday school consists of sports matches, as well as optional enrichment activities, such as kayaking and coding.

There is a wide variety of sport on offer, and a large number of teams represent the school most Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. As well as extensive playing fields, there is a 25-metre swimming pool, dance studio, sports hall, squash courts and a full-sized astro-turf pitch.

There are around 100 boarders, many of whom board for two or three nights in one of seven houses on the school grounds. The school offers full time boarding allowing the children to further enjoy the beautiful facilities and grounds the school has to offer.

Safeguarding

Westbourne House is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with current and past employers, online checks, the Disclosure & Barring Service, overseas checks and the Secretary of State’s Prohibition List from Teaching and Management.