Groundperson/Gardener

GROUNDSPERSON/GARDENER

 

St Christopher School in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire is seeking a Groundsperson to join its Grounds Department.

 

The School

St Christopher School is a co-educational boarding and day school of 520 pupils aged 3-18. It is located in Letchworth Garden City, within easy travelling distance of London and Cambridge.

Established in 1915 by Dr Armstrong Smith, throughout its history the School has been a champion of progressive education; at the time of its foundation the Daily Herald reported that the School was based

"not on the sameness of children, their conformity to type, but on their differences."

This concept of creating a school where all children are celebrated as individuals, regardless of their particular abilities, was a radical concept then, but one that remains relevant and important today and continues to be one of the distinctive characteristics of a St Chris education.

Academic performance is ‘above average’ and the majority of its Sixth Form leavers go on to Higher Education. But a St Chris education is about so much more than just academic achievement. As well as helping the children in their care develop competence and resourcefulness, social conscience and moral courage, St Chris produces well-rounded, high capability students with a capacity for friendship and a true zest for life, and the skills and confidence to thrive in the modern world.

 

Job Specification

General duties

• The Employee shall during his/her employment be responsible on a day by day basis to the Grounds Manager and ultimately responsible to the Bursar.

• The Employee will work as part of the Grounds Team and provide general assistance to the Grounds staff.

• The normal hours of work will be 7.30 to 16.00, Monday to Friday (40 hours per week, with half an hour unpaid at lunchtime) but the Employee shall be expected to work such hours as shall be necessary to discharge his/her duties efficiently and conscientiously, with a flexible approach.

• THE POSTHOLDER WILL HAVE DIRECT CONTACT WITH CHILDREN IN ALL AREAS OF THE SCHOOL.

 

Specific Duties

• Maintenance of School gardens and grounds as instructed by the Grounds Manager, ensuring that the highest standards are achieved at all times.

• Use of hand tools, machines and ride-on mowers.

• Maintain to the highest standard the sports surfaces, using tractor, attachments and machines. Including preparing pitches for cricket, football, rugby and athletics.

• Line-marking, to mark out the sports pitches.

• Maintaining artificial surfaces, to keep them clean and playable for the pupils and external clubs.

• Sweeping/Cleaning main school road/drives, paths, play areas etc.,

• Emptying all rubbish bins and separating where possible all rubbish for recycling or which may be burned according to Health and Safety recommendation and legislation.

• Picking up and clearing of litter.

• General leaf clearing by hand or machine.

• Fence repairs and treatment of wooden fences, seats and sheds etc.,

• Gardening duties include edging of lawns, de-weeding flower beds, pruning etc.

• General assistance to other gardeners and caretaking if required.

• Clearing of snow and gritting pathways.

• To be responsible and maintain all equipment, with particular reference to safety provisions.

• Undertake any other work as reasonably directed by the Grounds Manager or Bursar from time to time.

• To ensure that you are aware of all COSHH Regulations relating to any product used and to comply with the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992.

• To create a safe environment by ensuring that agreed codes of practice are adhered to and to comply in particular to the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992.

 

Person Specification

The successful candidate should:

• Have experience in the use and maintenance of grounds equipment

• Enjoy working outdoors and have experience of gardening. Ideally the post holder will have experience of the maintenance of sports grounds or gardens

• Be an enthusiastic worker with the ability to organise and prioritise tasks without close supervision

• Have good communication skills

• Have the ability to work well in a small team

• Be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines

 

Desirable:

• hold PA1/PA6 pesticide application certificates

• hold NVQ Level 2 in a sports-turf/horticulture related field

• hold a full valid UK Driving licence

 

Terms and conditions

1. Salary

From point 12 on the Support staff payscale, starting at £17,968 (from September starting salary will rise to £18,500).

2. Holidays and hours of work

In addition to normal public and Bank Holidays the Groundsperson will be entitled to 20 days paid holiday per year, to be taken in consultation with the Grounds Manager. Standard hours of work are 40 hours per week, 07:30 to 16:00 Monday to Friday, with 30 minutes unpaid for lunch. However, the Employee will be expected to work such hours as shall be necessary to discharge his/her duties efficiently and conscientiously, with a flexible approach.

3. Pension and other benefits

The successful candidate will be entitled to join the St Christopher contributory Pension Scheme. Currently the School contributes 8% towards the scheme and matches individual's contributions to a maximum contribution by the School of 12%. The School operates a health benefit and death-in-service scheme for staff. The post holder will enjoy a free lunch during term-time and free parking.

4. Fee remission

The School offers a fee remission arrangement for staff children who attend as day pupils. Currently a 50% fee remission is offered to children of staff joining the School, subject to normal admissions requirements being met.

 

The Application Process

In order to apply for this post candidates are required to complete the St Christopher School Application Form and send this, along with a letter of application, to:

Lucy Coddington Assistant Bursar

St Christopher School

Letchworth Garden City

Herts

SG6 3JZ

email: lucy.coddington@stchris.co.uk

tel: 01462 650945

 

Application Deadline: 4.00 pm on Friday 29th June 2018. We are happy to accept applications by email or post. We currently plan to hold interviews in the week beginning Monday 9th July 2018.

School employees are subject to our vegetarian and non-smoking rules when at work or on the School site.

 

Child Protection

St Christopher School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

 

Lucy Coddington

Assistant Bursar

June 2018