Food Technician

Testbourne Community School, is a 11-16 comprehensive school, which provides a forward thinking, outward looking and vibrant learning environment. We pride ourselves on the strength of staff and student relationships and we have a strong sense of community at the heart of our ethos.  Our shared philosophy is embodied by our strapline ‘Achievement, Excellence, Integrity.’   

Testbourne is a high performing school, with students achieving excellent results. In August 2024, 76% achieved a ‘standard’ pass of grade 4 and above in English and Maths combined.  An excellent total of 52 grade 9s were achieved by our year 11s across their subjects.  Progress was also good for all students including those with SEND.  

This post provides an exciting career opportunity for an ambitious and inspirational candidate who would like to further develop their career. Main responsibilities will involve supporting teaching staff with a wide variety of practical tasks associated with food preparation and nutrition. The successful candidate would ideally have some experience working in an educational environment and hold a qualification in food, nutrition or cookery; however, all applications will be carefully considered. Applicants must be committed to working directly with young people, as well as having a keen eye for maintaining the health and safety of students and staff. 

The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills, and the ability to inspire our students and staff. We are dedicated to offering the right candidate professional development to enable them to achieve excellence. We provide a highly supportive environment with opportunities to develop.  

“I really enjoy working at Testbourne. Not only are the students enthusiastic in their learning and respectful of teachers, Senior Leadership are supportive, caring and value their staff. I have been given numerous opportunities to develop and progress in my career, and since starting a young family I have been supported in working part-time whilst maintaining responsibilities.” 

To get a sense of what it is like to be part of our team, please see the Working with Us - Testbourne Community School section on our website for genuine quotes from our staff.   

The successful candidate will: 

• a passionate advocate for food preparation and nutrition 
• be smartly presented and have a professional attitude to employment 
• be punctual and reliable; flexible and hard-working 
• enjoy working with young people 
• have a firm but sympathetic manner, with a good sense of humour 
• have a good standard of education and sound literacy and numeracy skills 
• have experience of food preparation and be able to demonstrate high level cookery skills 
• be willing to undertake training and develop their skills. 

The role will include:  

• liaising with the food preparation & nutrition teachers to meet the day-to-day needs of the department 
• providing in-lesson support for students and staff, as appropriate 
• preparation and tidying of teaching rooms before and after classes 
• maintaining an attractive working environment 
• cleaning and minor maintenance of equipment 
• maintaining and ordering stock; checking and storing deliveries 
• preparation of materials for food preparation & nutrition lessons 
• assisting in the completion of risk assessments and keeping relevant records up-to-date. 

In return we:  

• offer the opportunity to be part of a supportive, experienced, organised and friendly team; 
• provide professional development and expertise to enable staff to achieve excellence;  
• provide a highly professional and collaborative working environment focused on developing a love of learning and reading;  
• offer first rate personal career development to assist you in the fulfilment of your ambitions.