Assistant Cook - Beaucroft Foundation School

Join the team at Café 1HQ!

Our Beaucroft College community café, Café 1HQ, is a wonderful addition to Wimborne. Located in the heart of the community, near Redcotts Park, the popular café is run by our wonderful college students with the support of an amazing café staff team.

We are looking for an Assistant Cook to join the team, working at the College site 5 days per week (Monday to Friday), 22.5 hours per week worked 10.00am - 2.30pm term time only. Annual Salary £24,796 - £25,185 per annum (Actual salary £12,637 - £12,836 pro-rated).

Café 1HQ and Beaucroft College are vibrant, fun places of work. A positive and enthusiastic attitude is a must; with great communication skills for team working and to maintain our high standard of customer service. The successful candidate will ideally be familiar with supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities or who has a desire to upskill in this area.

The role involves: working across two kitchens to assist in the preparation and cooking of the bakes and meals served in Café 1HQ; serving meals and drinks to Café 1HQ customers; assisting the dedicated teaching staff in supporting the Beaucroft College students completing work experience in Café 1HQ; washing up; and general help with the smooth running of the café.

If you are not familiar with Café 1HQ and/or Beaucroft College, please visit our website, as well as our Facebook and Instagram pages, links below:

Website: Beaucroft Foundation School – Specialists in Education

Facebook:

Café 1HQ - https://www.facebook.com/post16attherafa?locale=en_GB

Beaucroft College - https://www.facebook.com/BeaucroftCollege/

Instagram: 

Café 1HQ - https://www.instagram.com/cafe1hq/

Beaucroft Foundation School & College - https://www.instagram.com/beaucr0ft/ 

The salary is based on Dorset Job Evaluation XS2.5 (Grade 3). The salary quoted is the annual salary minimum and maximum starting salary for the position, at the time of the advert, based on the number of hours and weeks worked and includes appropriate paid annual leave and bank holiday entitlements. The salary will be paid in equal monthly instalments and will be adjusted at the start of employment and again if leaving part way through the school year to ensure the correct salary is received for the work completed in an academic year.

We value the diversity of our workforce and welcome applications from all sectors of the community.

Beaucroft School & College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people; this is a commitment which we expect all staff and volunteers to share. The successful candidate will be required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service check in line with the Governments safer recruitment guidelines.

This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be established as part of the appointment process

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

We will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. This check will be part of a safeguarding check, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. All aspects of social media and internet searches will be conducted. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.

We have an excellent track record in developing staff with an extensive internal professional training schedule and we can offer you:

• Ongoing CPD support including Dorset Therapeutic Thinking (TADSS)
• Wellbeing package linked to Schools UK and Dorset Council
• The opportunity to work within an environment where all can thrive and staff are highly valued

Beaucroft is a Foundation Special School that caters for children and young people between the ages of 4 to 19 years who are experiencing learning difficulties, including complex needs, and those with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Our pupils’ needs range vastly and we are dedicated to giving the very best education to the children that they deserve.

Beaucroft is a special place, where children and young people feel valued and staff ensure that learning needs are met. In addition to the National Curriculum, it offers a personalised, innovative curriculum to meet particular learning needs, focused on practical, community based learning, creating a friendly, caring environment where children and young people positively thrive.

This is a fantastic time to join our wonderful Beaucroft team. It’s also an exciting time to join Café 1HQ as there are future plans for the café’s development.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact the School Office on 01202 886083 and ask for Rachel Shaw (HR Manager).

Closing date for applicants: Friday 8^th May 2026

Interviews to be held on: Monday 18^th May 2026

If you have not been contacted by email by Thursday 14^th May 2026, your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.