Catering Assistant
Post: Catering Assistant
School/Location: Woodside Primary Academy, Wood Street, Walthamstow, London E17 3JX
Start Date: September 2026- subject to the completion of all safer recruitment checks
Salary: NJC Outer London Scale Point 3 -4 , £28,617 - £29,025 FTE (£17,856 - £18,110 pro rata)
Contract Type: 26 hours per week (11.30am – 5.00pm Mon -Thurs, 10.00am – 2.00pm Fri) 39 weeks per Year (Term time PLUS 5 INSET days), Permanent.
About this Role
The Woodside Primary Academy are looking for a Catering Assistant who can whip up a mean mac & cheese, serve up smiles and maybe even master the art of the perfect consistency for custard.
No cape required—just bring your sense of humour, a love for children, and the ability to navigate a lunch rush like a pro. If you can handle the heat of the kitchen (and a few picky eaters), we want you on our team!
Apply now and become the unsung hero of our school’s lunch hour. Providing children with their fuel for school.
Key duties and responsibilities:
The basic preparation of food e.g. fresh vegetables, salads and fresh fruit under the supervision of the kitchen manager.
Simple cooking duties under the supervision of the kitchen manager.
Serving of meals to customers under the supervision of the kitchen manager.
To prepare and serve the teatime club provision with a hot snack.
Others general kitchen and dining room duties e.g. washing up, moving tables and chairs, sweeping and mopping.
With others cleaning the kitchen and its surrounds.
To be aware of customer service needs.
Under the direction of the kitchen manager to ensure that food is prepared and served in a safe manner.
Under the direction of the kitchen manager to comply with all relevant legislation.
For further information about the role come and visit our school! To book your visit or for an informal discussion, please contact the school office. School visits are encouraged but are by appointment only.
Why Work with REAch2 Academy Trust?
Join REAch2 Academy Trust, one of the UK's largest primary academy trusts, with a mission to unlock the potential of every child, regardless of their background. Here’s why joining our team can be an exciting and fulfilling career choice:
- Excellence & Development: We prioritise high standards and offer extensive professional development and career growth opportunities.
- Supportive & Collaborative: Be part of a strong, collaborative community of over 60 schools where every voice is valued, and best practices are shared.
- Well-being Focus: We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer robust well-being support for all staff.
- Diversity & Inclusion: We celebrate diversity and believe that varied perspectives strengthen our schools.
- Innovation & Impact: Bring creativity to the classroom and make a real difference in children’s lives.
- Making a difference: Working with REAch2 means contributing to something bigger than yourself. You’ll be helping to shape the lives of young learners, making a meaningful impact on communities and future generations.
Join us to grow your career, collaborate with passionate educators, and make a lasting impact on future generations.
Benefits
We offer a range of benefits to support your career and well-being:
- Generous Annual Leave: healthy work-life balance.
- Professional Development: Access diverse CPD and training opportunities to grow your skills.
- Flexible & Family-Friendly: We are committed to supporting flexible working and requests will be considered on an individual basis, including options such as part time, term-time, home working, and other options that work for both the employee and the Trust.
- Exclusive Discounts: Benefit from Blue Light Card offers and employee perks.
- Well-being Support: Receive comprehensive well-being and employee assistance for you and your family.
Join REAch2 for a rewarding career with great benefits!
Safeguarding, Safer Recruitment and Data Protection
At REAch2 we recognise that those who work in an academy are in a unique position in their care of children. The responsibility for all staff to safeguard pupils and promote their welfare, as stated in Section 175 of the Education Act (2002) is one that is central to our ethos, our policies and our actions. All children are deserving of the highest levels of care and safeguarding, regardless of their individual characteristics or circumstances, and we are committed to applying our policies to ensure effective levels of safeguarding and care are afforded to all our pupils.
We will seek to recruit the best applicant for the job based on the abilities, qualifications, experience as measured against the job description and person specification. The recruitment and selection of staff will be conducted in a professional, timely and responsive manner and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance. An enhanced DBS disclosure will be requested for all successful candidates, including a Children's Barred List check if the role meets the criteria for regulated activity.
For more information about our safer recruitment processes, please click here for our Safer Recruitment Policy.
All information is stored securely, and any information supplied by unsuccessful candidates will be destroyed through a confidential waste system six months after the decision has been communicated, in accordance with our information and records retention policy.
The Trust ensures all applicant data is stored and processed appropriately. For further details on how your information will be managed during the recruitment process please refer to our Privacy Notice for Job Applications.
Closing date: 14th August 2026 at Midday
Interviews to take place on: 21st August 2026
Applications MUST be completed online via this link https://mynewterm.com/jobs/139016/EDV-2026-WPA-40376 (WALTHAM FOREST FORMS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED)
Equal Opportunities
Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value. To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy
How to apply
We only accept applications via the link in the advert, we do not accept Waltham forest application forms.