Commercial Catering Manager - Term Time - Special Needs Position

Five Acre Wood School, Maidstone

• Ref:KCC886-7056-887S
• Posted:27/03/2026
• Pay:KSE plus SEN allowance
• Start Date:May 2026
• App Close Date:13/04/2026 at 10:00
• Interviews:TBC

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Five Acre Wood School is looking to appoint a Commercial Catering Manager who will play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality, industry-standard catering training for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This role is central to the school's commitment to providing meaningful, real-world learning experiences that foster independence, confidence, and employability skills among pupils aged 4 to 19 across diverse learning approaches.

Situated within a special school environment with a high proportion of pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD), and other complex needs, the role demands a sensitive and adaptive approach. The Commercial Catering Manager will oversee the transformation of the existing teaching kitchen into a fully equipped commercial kitchen, supporting the school’s vision of inclusion, personalised learning and community engagement. This initiative will provide pupils with hands-on experience producing and selling goods via the on-site school shop (Peggy's FAW-tique) and hospitality training academy (The FAWrient Express).

The role supports Five Acre Wood’s ethos of collaboration, respect, and aspiration, ensuring pupils develop essential life skills and vocational competencies in a supportive, nurturing environment.

For a full list of duties, please view the job description.

 In addition to salary, SEN allowance and pension, staff benefits include:

• Confidential counselling service and Employee Assistance Programme
• School Counsellor (for staff and pupils)
• Wellbeing app
• Annual flu vaccinations
• Strong social, supportive staff community
• Development opportunities 

Successful candidates will hold a relevant qualification in hospitality management or a related field (e.g., NVQ Level 3 in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership) plus a Food Safety and Hygiene Certificate or be willing to work towards gaining. Experience of working in a café or similar food service establishment and of training and supervising staff is essential. Experience of working with individuals with special needs or in an educational setting would be an advantage.

We encourage you to explore our website to see our unique facilities—including a library housed in an aeroplane and a counselling space in a lifeboat—plus examples of our innovative approaches to learning across all sites.

Five Acre Wood is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All appointments are subject to enhanced DBS checks, online searches and additional employment references in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (2025).

We look forward to hearing from you!

Information about the school

Five Acre Wood is an “Outstanding", forward looking school with an international reputation. We are ambitious for our pupils, and we pride ourselves on working with many leaders in the field of special education.

We play an important role in our community and enjoy strong local links which give our pupils opportunities to play active and meaningful roles in their own communities.

We are an innovative school and have worked on a number of unique projects to provide pupils with unique and diverse learning opportunities. These include; - FAWrient Express café in a train carriage, giving pupils hands-on experience in hospitality training - 7FAW7 - a library inside a real plane fuselage designed to meet the diverse needs of our pupils - FAWtilus - a dedicated counselling space for pupils and staff - FAWbulous Bus - a soft-play facility that also teaches pupils how to safely board a bus - Platform FAW - our new coffee roastery where pupils can learn to roast and bag their own coffee - Peggy’s FAWtique - a shop space where pupils can develop valuable sales techniques - Radio FAW All - our very own radio station, which offers pupils exciting opportunities to get involved in radio broadcasting and research - FAW Records - our own record label. We have released a number of singles and music videos - Five Acre Woodstock Festival - our annual festival created especially for pupils to experience the sights, sounds and atmosphere of a real performance.

It may need to be seen to be believed! Please click this link to view our videos: https://www.youtube.com/@FiveAcreWoodRecords

Five Acre Wood is committed to the safeguarding of all its pupils, you will therefore be subject to an enhanced disclosure process. As part of our responsibility for safeguarding, in addition to the Kent policy of one employment and one personal reference, the school will request additional employment references.

Job Contact Information

• Name:Nicola Devereux
• Address:Boughton Lane, Maidstone , Kent, ME15 9QF
• Telephone: (01622) 743925
• Email: hr@five-acre.kent.sch.uk

Fax: 01622 744828