ST MARY'S SCHOOL CAMBRIDGE
10,375 per year
Cambridge
Part-time
31st October 2025
Part-Time Breakfast Chef

November 2025

St Mary’s School
Bateman Street
Cambridge
CB2 1LY

T: 01223 353253

hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk

St Mary’s School Cambridge – A Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered Office: Bateman Street Cambridge CB2 1LY –

No. 184031 England Registered Charity No. 290180

Welcome from the Head

Thank you for showing interest in this role at St Mary’s School, Cambridge.

We are an independent day and boarding school for girls aged 3 to 18. We have a school roll of around 600 students.
Approximately 15% of the students are boarders. Reflecting the cosmopolitan community of Cambridge, on average
25% of students originate from overseas, from around 30 countries.

The School offers a secure and welcoming learning environment for girls: we are delightfully situated in the heart of
the  academically  renowned  and  culturally  vibrant  city  of  Cambridge.  The  Junior  School  is  adjacent  to  the  famous
backdrop  of  Coe  Fen,  and  the  Senior  School  and  Boarding  House  overlook  the  University  of  Cambridge  Botanic
Gardens.

Cambridge is an outstanding place to live and work. As a university city, Cambridge has the cultural advantages of a
much larger settlement but with a population of approximately 145,000, it is a safe, clean and attractive location. The
city has an international reputation owing to its world ranking university and the school benefits from its proximity to
the digital and enterprise communities in the various high-tech science parks and enterprise hubs. We are within easy
travelling distance of London, less than an hour by train and a short hop from London Stansted Airport.

There has been major investment in new facilities at the School over the past decade: a new Junior School; a new Sixth
Form Centre; new provision of Art & Photography; the creation of our Science Hub; and our new boarding facility,
Mary  Ward  House.  We  have  developed  our  sporting  facilities  through  an  ambitious  collaboration  with  Homerton
College, University of Cambridge and have invested in a new boat house in a joint partnership with City of Cambridge
Rowing Club and Homerton College. We are proud to have opened our Mary Ward Educational Suite in January 2024
which provides new state of the art teaching spaces.

High quality facilities are only as good as the people who work in them, so we invest heavily in our staff, who we know
are  our  greatest  asset.  We  encourage  staff  to  develop  themselves  through  training  and  facilitate  bespoke  CPD
opportunities for all.

St Mary’s School promotes equal opportunity for all staff and pupils and is committed to its culture of diversity and
inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates from a wide range of backgrounds.

Above all, St Mary’s School, Cambridge is a very happy place. We have an excellent local reputation for being very
friendly and nurturing, and yet ambitious, for the young women in our care, enabling strong progress to next steps at
university,  the  world  of  work  or  a  gap  year.  Our  girls  are  genuinely  delightful,  the  teachers  and  support  staff  are
exceptionally dedicated; we are a very close-knit, loving, joyful and purposeful community.

St  Mary’s  really  is  a  warm  and  welcoming  environment  for  all  staff,  whatever  their  role,  and  we  look  forward  to
receiving your application.

Hannah Helliar

The St Mary’s Approach

We are  proud  to  be a  Christian school in the Catholic tradition and founded on the principles of our 17th  century
foundress, Mary Ward, our vision is that ‘By God’s grace, women in time will do much’ (Mary Ward 1585-1645). The
challenge for women is not over, and whilst there are now more opportunities for 'women to do much' there are still
considerable barriers and so our work continues via our mission to develop curious, creative and compassionate young
women with the aspiration, confidence and integrity to shape a better world for the common good. Our approach is
based on the core values of Freedom, Joy, Justice, Love and Truth and we live these values in school through our HEART
habits of

H – Hard work
E – Empathy
A – Adaptability
R – Responsibility
T – Thoughtfulness

We show perseverance and sustain focus.
We are kind, joyful, generous, value friendship and celebrate diversity.
We adjust to difficult situations, are open minded, discerning and take calculated risks.
We act justly and strive to uphold truth and lead by example.
We are creative, reflective, attentive, show gratitude, hear others and disagree well.

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Our unique approach to education fosters a love of life and of learning, while growing the academic curiosity and
spiritual wellbeing of each individual girl so that they can look beyond themselves and enter adulthood aspiring to be
more and to give more, not just to have more. We warmly welcome girls, and staff, of all Christian denominations
and other faith and secular backgrounds to join our thriving community.

Last year the school celebrated its 125th anniversary. Building on our 400-year tradition, St Mary’s School, Cambridge
belongs to an international network of approximately two hundred Mary Ward schools.

Innovative Learning at St Mary’s

We empower all our students to aim high. As an accredited High Performance Learning World Class School there has
never been a more exciting time to join our team.

High  Performance  Learning  (HPL)  is  a  research-based,  pedagogy-led  philosophy  that  responds  to  our  growing
understanding of human capability. It sees all students as potential high performers who are not limited by ‘ability’.
HPL makes the goal of high performance the expectation for all students and uses a unique teaching and learning
framework to systematically grow minds and develop the cognitive skills, values, attitudes and attributes needed to
reach success.

Here at St Mary’s, we are proud to be developing our own approach to HPL and welcome applications from like-minded
colleagues  who  are  ambitious  for  their  students  and  committed  to  research-based  approaches  to  teaching  and
learning.

For further information please visit  https://www.highperformancelearning.co.uk/

Digital St Mary’s

St Mary's is a digital school. The goals of the School are supported through

•  developing a community of staff and students which learns in, responds to and engages with an ever-changing

digital world;

•  preparing students for their future by giving them the confidence to work in a digital environment;
•  establishing creative teaching and learning environments;
•  employing teaching staff who are trained and supported to be technologically and digitally skilled.

All members of St Mary's work digitally using Microsoft 365 as a platform. All students in the Senior School and Sixth
Form have access to an individual device (Microsoft Surface Pro) which is used extensively in lessons and for home
learning.

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Job Description: Part-Time Breakfast Chef (TTO plus 4 days)

Reporting to:     The Operations Manager has overall responsibility for the Catering Team but day to day reporting will

be to the Catering Manager and in his absence, the Chef on duty.

Hours of work:  20 hours per week, term time only from 6am to 10am at Mary Ward House, catering for those pupils
who board at the school. The role is Monday to Friday but with a requirement to work some weekends on occasion.
Some  flexibility  is  required  and  you  may  be  required  to  work  additional  hours  to  meet  the  business  needs.  Any
authorised overtime hours will be paid for.
Contract: Permanent, Term Time only plus INSET days, 35 weeks plus 4 days per annum.
Salary:  £10,375 per annum (FTE £25,943)
Direct reports:  None
Place of work:  On site: Mary Ward House, Cambridge

Job Purpose

To  successfully  prepare,  cook  and  serve  high-quality  breakfast  dishes  in  accordance  with  food  safety  and  hygiene

standards. Maintain a clean, organized kitchen and ensure smooth morning service. Work is primarily at Mary Ward

House, however all catering staff may be called on to work at any of the St Mary’s sites.

Job Description

Responsibilities and Duties

•  Prepare and cook breakfast items to a high standard.

•  Ensure all stock is put away correctly, rotated, recorded if applicable and signed for.

•  Ensure food is prepared safely and hygienically in line with HACCP procedures.

•  With the Food Service Assistants, maintain cleanliness and organization of the kitchen area.

•  Monitor stock levels and report shortages to management.

•  Adhere to allergen awareness and COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations.

•  Work collaboratively with other kitchen and service staff.

•  Taking and recording all the required temperature checks in line with food safety regulations. Identifying areas

of potential risk and reporting where improvements are required.

•  Ensuring that all records that you are responsible for are up to date.

•  Attending training courses at the employer’s direction appropriate to the job role.

The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate competence and experience as follows:

Person Specification

This  role  will  involve  direct  contact  with  children,  including  preparing  and  serving  meals  for  them  and  answering

questions regarding food at mealtimes.

Qualifications

•  Minimum Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate.

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Experience

•  Experience of working in a busy kitchen.
•  Experience of working in a school (desirable).
•  At least 3 years of professional cooking experience.
•  Good understanding of food allergens, HACCP, and COSHH.
•  Ability to work efficiently and independently during early morning hours.
•  Punctual, reliable, and detail-oriented.
•  Maintain confidentiality in all areas of work at St Mary’s.
•  Ensure that your conduct within and outside St Mary’s does not conflict with organisational expectations.
•  Co-operate with all staff maintaining harmonious inter-personal relationships, internally and externally.
•  Attend staff meetings and training as required.
•  Participate in supervision sessions and appraisals with your line manager.

Personal Skills

•  Strong organisational, prioritisation and time management skills.
•  Good team worker, confident and able to offer training and support to colleagues as well as accept advice

and help.

•  Good oral communication skills.
•  Good food preparation, service and hygiene awareness and skills.
•  Ability to work under pressure.
•  Willingness to share ideas and train others.

Personal Qualities

•  Good team worker, contributing new ideas.
•  Enthusiastic, flexible and cheerful with a ‘can do’ attitude.
•  Professionalism and integrity.
•  Awareness of the need to observe child protection safeguards at all times.

The above list is not an exhaustive list of duties, and you may be expected to perform different tasks as
necessitated by your line manager and your changing role within the School and overall business objectives of the
School.

Child Welfare and Child Protection Issues

The interview for this post will include exploring issues relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
including:

•  motivation to work with children and young people;
•  ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships with children and young people;
•  emotional resilience in working with challenging behaviours;
•  attitudes to the use of authority and maintaining discipline.

Any  relevant  issues  arising  from  the  take  up  of  references  will  be  discussed  at  interview.  The  school  is  an  equal
opportunities employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people
and  expect  all  staff  and  volunteers  to  share  this  commitment.  Successful  applicants  are  subject  to  an  Enhanced
Disclosure and Barring Check.

Benefits
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At  St  Mary’s  you  will  enjoy  an  exceptional  career  and  comprehensive  benefits  including  a  contributory  pension
scheme, 33% discount (pro rata for part-time staff) on school fees, BUPA cash plan, an occupational sickness scheme,
free lunches and refreshments, a season ticket discount and much more.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

St Mary’s School is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and selects staff on merit
irrespective  of  race,  religion  or  belief,  pregnancy  and  maternity,  marital  status,  sex,  sexuality/gender  preference,
disability or age. You are not obliged to complete the Equal Opportunities Form, but any information given will help
us monitor the effectiveness of our policies and procedures.

If you have a disability, you are invited to request any special arrangements that you may require for interview or any
adjustments that you would consider necessary to your working arrangements by contacting our Human Resources
department (hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk, 01223 353253).

Process

Application is welcomed by completing the Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form which can be found on
the Vacancies page  of our website. This may  be  accompanied by a covering letter and a curriculum vitae. We are
unable to accept applications supported by a CV alone.

Interviews will be conducted in person, and they will explore candidates’ suitability to work with children. Candidates
are required to bring with them the necessary ID documentation and any relevant qualification certificate(s), all of
which  must  be  originals.  Further  information  of  the  interview  format  will  be  provided  if  you  are  shortlisted  for
interview.

If you have any question, please contact the HR Team by email: hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk or call: 01223 353253.

Closing date: 31 October 2025

Interview date:  TBC

We will review applications on receipt. Suitable candidates may be interviewed before the closing date, and we reserve
the right to withdraw the position if an early appointment is made.

The  school  is  an  equal  opportunities  employer.  We  are  committed  to  safeguarding  and  promoting  the  welfare  of
children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful applicants are
subject to an enhanced DBS check.

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