school catering assistant jobs

About the Role

Salary: £13,500 - £13,834 per annum (pro rata calculated from part time hours and term time only)
Contract Type: Permanent, Term Time Only (39 weeks which includes 5 cleaning days)
Working Pattern: Part time, 23.75 hours per week (Monday to Friday (9.15am to 2pm)
Location: Palatine Primary School, Worthing, BN12 6JP
Interview Date: 7th January 2026

We’re looking for a Catering Assistant to join us at Palatine Primary School, supporting pupils by preparing healthy, nutritious food and encouraging valuable life skills along the way.

Your role as a Catering Assistant goes beyond just preparing homemade meals. You will also create a welcoming atmosphere and provide exceptional service, using your friendly and approachable nature to make sure students feel valued and cared for at mealtimes.

There will be some key responsibilities likely to feature in this role, including:

• Support the day-to-day operation of the kitchen including preparation, cooking, and cleaning to the required standards, ensuring hygiene and safety measure are maintained.
• Thriving in busy environment and support colleagues to maintain high professional standards.
• This is an active role, which includes regularly lifting, moving, and handling large equipment.
• Complete written documentation for Health & Safety and Food Safety legislation and business requirements.

With a term time only contract that allows a work/life balance, great pension plus a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers. There’s never been a better time to join!

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Experience in, catering with good customer service, including strong written and verbal communication.
• Good at communicating and can connect well with children and staff.
• Level 2 Food Safety Certificate.
• Basic literacy and numeracy skills.
• Experience with Health & Safety procedures in a commercial setting.
• An understanding for the differing needs of young people with special educational needs.
• A genuine passion for promoting healthy and balanced eating.

No candidate will meet every single desired qualification. If your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you!

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

What to expect working with us:

• A Term Time Only (TTO) contract where you will work during periods in which schools are open plus an additional 5 days for cleaning.
• Excellent work-life balance with evenings, weekends, and bank holidays off.
• Supportive and welcoming team environment.
• An excellent local government pension scheme
• Maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
• A range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• Health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans.

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CPP01253

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Helen Turner at helen.turner@westsussex.gov.uk

For any issues regarding the application process, please contact Charlotte Blandford (Recruitment Specialist) at Charlotte.blandford@westsussex.gov.uk

Does this sound like the opportunity for you? Click apply below, upload your CV, and complete the application form, explaining how you meet the key skills in the attached job description. Please ensure all that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV.

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We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to right to work within the UK, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, satisfactory references, and health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.