Catering Assistant

Salary £13.45 per hour | 12.5 hours hours per week | Term Time only | Fixed term until 23/07/2026, Variable hours | ST Johns | CLIVIGER ,BURNLEY

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. 

Have you always been interested in a career in catering but felt the hours wouldn't fit around your family commitments?

Why not join Lancashire School Meals?

Our Catering Assistant roles offer family-friendly working hours, allowing you to work while your children are at school, be there for drop-offs and pick-ups, and enjoy school holidays together.

Many of our current employees joined the service when their own children started school and have gone on to enjoy long and rewarding careers. We offer excellent training and development opportunities, and many of our team members have progressed into supervisory and management roles. 

As a Catering Assistant, you will join our friendly school kitchen team, helping to prepare and serve healthy, balanced meals while creating a positive lunchtime experience for pupils.

Lancashire County Council's School Catering Service provides more than 60,000 meals every day across over 500 schools, and you'll play an important part in serving a nutritious meal to the children of Lancashire.

What you'll do:

• Help serve nutritious school meals.
• Support general kitchen and cleaning duties.
• Work as part of a friendly and supportive team.
• Help create a safe and welcoming dining environment for children.
• Follow food safety and hygiene standards

We are looking for someone who:

• Is reliable, dependable and ready to contribute.
• Works well as part of a team.
• Can remain calm and work efficiently during busy periods.
• Can use their own initiative when needed.
• Has good customer service and communication skills.
• Has previous catering and food-preparation experience, which is essential for this role.
• Can cover the Unit Catering Supervisor role during periods of absence, ensuring the smooth running of the unit when required

What we offer:

• Family-friendly working hours – Monday to Friday, term time only
• A supportive team environment where everyone plays their part.
• An active and practical role with no two days quite the same
• A rewarding role supporting the health and wellbeing of local children.
• Lancashire County Council also offers a range of benefits, which can be found on our website here.

The post you are applying for is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). If successful you will be required to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for a 'disclosure'. Further information can be found on the 'Our Recruitment Process' tab. 

We reserve the right to close a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications

Job Description and Person Specification

Local Government Reorganisation

The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2028.

If you are successful in your application, you will initially join Lancashire County Council. However, as part of the planned transition, your employment will transfer to one of the new unitary councils from April 2028, subject to the implementation of the reorganisation and relevant employment legislation.

Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities. By joining us now, you'll play an important role in shaping the future of local government and helping to build a strong new organisation that will serve residents for years to come.