Catering Manager

Old Swinford Hospital is one of the country’s leading state boarding schools. A large number of the School’s students are boarders who come from a wide range of backgrounds in the UK and also from the EU and overseas. A third of our pupils are day pupils, who usually go home after lessons, unless they are involved in sport or music, CCF or DofE.

The School is now on an exciting journey to become fully co-educational by 2025. Girls joined us in September 2021 in Year 7, whilst the Sixth Form has been mixed since 2004.

OSH is calm place to work. It is inclusive, tolerant and welcoming. The atmosphere is supportive and orderly, and it is also very relaxed because for many of our pupils their school is also their home. Parents, pupils and staff are all on the same side and our pupils want to learn before going out into the wider world and making their own contribution to it.

We have recently had two very favourable Ofsted visits, one for boarding and one for curriculum. You can see these via our  We enjoy a very good academic reputation and regularly feature in the lists of the most academically successful maintained schools. We’re not about league tables, however. We pride ourselves on developing in our pupils a balance of academic achievement, character and resilience and we’ve been doing this now for nearly 360 years.

Our extensive extra-curricular programme contributes to our pupils becoming happy, healthy and interested young people, for whom sport, music, art, drama, outdoor pursuits feature in their everyday lives.

A major building programme has recently been completed which includes a large extension to an already impressive sports centre, an all-weather floodlit sports pitch, a new teaching block with a specialist arts room, a performing arts centre and a new senior boarding house.

Person Specification

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following skills:

• Significant experience and qualifications as a Catering Manager or Head Chef, preferably in a school, or similar setting;
• Flair and passion for food;
• Have excellent culinary skills with an attention to detail;
• A creative thinker with sound knowledge of the current food trends;
• Knowledge and experience of managing individual dietary needs e.g. allergens and nutrition;
• Ability to effectively lead, manage, develop and motivate staff;
• Budgeting skills and the ability to manage stock and food costs;
• Effective verbal and written communication skills:
• Experience of using Microsoft Office Packages including Excel and Word
• Planning and organisational skills in order to be able to run two busy food service areas;
• Have sound knowledge of hygiene, health and safety requirements;
• Self-motivated with the ability to work under pressure;
• A willingness to adopt a hands-on approach in a varied and demanding team environment to meet deadlines;
• Positive and professional attitude;
• Demonstrate a high standard of personal cleanliness and appearance;
• Polite manner in dealing with pupils and staff;

Overall Objectives:

• To deliver an effective and efficient catering facility encompassing menu planning, budgetary control, stock management and ensuring kitchen health & hygiene regulations are met.
• To develop and progress the catering provision to deliver healthy, home cooked and high quality meals that meet the required standards by the school as required by Ofsted.
• To support the aims of the school.
• To lead, manage and deploy a team of catering staff to ensure the efficient organisation of the catering provision.
• To promote the School in delivering lettings and functions.

Reports to:

The Bursar

Key Responsibilities

• To provide the strategic direction needed for the kitchen to develop successfully.
• To monitor, review and evaluate the catering provision to the school.
• To plan, implement and review a cycle of nutritionally balanced, home cooked menus which will be revised at regular intervals;
• To be responsible for the performance of the whole school catering provision, including co-ordinating and overseeing in and out of school events catering eg. events, functions, and lettings
• To be accountable for leading, managing and developing the catering facility,…