About the role
The Housekeeper Matron is resident in the Boarding House and in conjunction with the Housemaster, is responsible for the pastoral care and wellbeing of approximately 65 pupils aged 13-18, including supporting them in their extra-curricular activities.
The Housekeeper Matron is also responsible for the management of the House and its domestic staff, the ordering of supplies, and the keeping of accounts.
The Relief Matron is accountable to the Housemaster but works under the direction of the Housekeeper/Matron. This role covers for the Housekeeper/Matron to allow them to have time off, and is required to sleep overnight in the Boarding House. The Relief Matron is not required to remain in the house for the duration of their shift, although is required to be ‘on call’ through a mobile phone in case of emergency.
The College has a fully staffed Medical Centre and doctors conduct a surgery there on a daily basis. Therefore, the Relief Matron will not be required to have any formal medical or nursing qualifications. However, all Relief Matrons are required to undertake a one day first aid course. Relief Matrons are encouraged to attend House events and to become involved in the life of the pupils in the House. This could include attending sports matches, plays, art competitions and music recitals.
Main Responsibilities
The Relief Matron’s duties will be similar to those of the Matron, albeit providing a more limited service. The Relief Matron provides cover during the Matron’s 30 hours off each week during term time. There are 31 occasions each academic year when the duty is required. The list below outlines the Relief Matron’s main duties:
Pupil Welfare
General
Health and Safety
The Relief Matron will assist the Housemaster in meeting Health and Safety standards in the House for both pupils and staff.
This includes:
Start date
As soon as possible.
Salary
The salary for this term-time position will be £5,366.39 (gross) per annum.
Salary is paid monthly, in arrears, to a nominated back account in 12 equal payments. Salary levels are reviewed on 1 September annually and this appointment will be next reviewed in September 2024.
Food
The Relief Matron is entitled to receive food from the House Kitchen for the duration of their duty.
Hours of Work
The Relief Matron provides cover during the Housekeeper/Matron’s 30 hours off each week during term time. There are 31 occasions each academic year when the duty is required.
The Relief Matron is not required to remain in the house for the duration of their shift, although is required to be ‘on call’ through a mobile phone in case of an emergency. The typical duty might comprise:
Day 1
Attend lunch/issue medicine: 1.0 hours
Attend tea: 1.0 hour
Attend tea surgery: 1.0 hour
Attend evening surgery: 1.0 hour
Day 2
Morning surgery and complete iSAMS: 1.0 hour
Sleeping Hours (22:30 to 07:00) 8.5 hours
These hours are a guideline. It is expected that an average of six hours will be worked across the duty period, with allowance for another four hours that may be required for appointments, emergencies or sporting events. There needs to be a degree of flexibility which may vary from house to house.
Holidays
The College leave year runs from 1 September to 31 August. This position will be entitled to the statutory holiday requirements. These are presently 28 days. Any Public Bank Holiday occurring during term time is deemed to be a normal working day. All leave must be taken by prior arrangement and must be taken outside of the school’s term times.
Probation and Notice Periods
The first four months of employment will be a probationary period. During this time, conduct and performance will be reviewed. The College may extend the probationary period if it is deemed to be required. During the probationary period the notice required to terminate employment will be one week (by either the employee or employer). Once employment is confirmed, the notice period will increase to one month.
Induction and Continuous Training and Development
The school is fully committed to the induction, training and development of all our staff, with staff supported to grow and reach their full potential.
We deliver a range of training, run by both our own staff and external providers, varying from highly practical First Aid courses to seminars and learning lunches.
There is an annual appraisal offering the opportunity to reflect on professional practice and development opportunities.
The school also offers a wide range of apprenticeships supporting staff development and progression.
Pension and Life Cover
On employment, employees will be auto-enrolled into the College’s pension scheme according to legislative thresholds. Those who are not eligible for auto-enrolment may still elect to join the College’s pension scheme.
Initially, when joining the College’s pension scheme, employees will become a member of the College’s Group Personal Pension Plan (GPP). For this Plan, known as Tier 1, the employee contributes 5% and the employer 3%.
After 9 month’s membership of the Tier 1 plan, employees may opt to join Tier 2, which is also a GPP, where the employee contributes 5% and the employer 9%.
Employees in Tier 1 automatically qualify for a Life Cover of 2 times salary. On entry to Tier 2, Life Cover changes to 4 times salary.
Wider Benefits
Enhanced Disclosure Check
As Winchester College is an educational establishment, a condition of employment will be that the successful candidate must consent to the school obtaining an Enhanced Level Disclosure Check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). This will reveal all spent and unspent convictions, warnings, cautions and bind-overs. A policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders is available on the school’s website.
Safeguarding is one of the primary responsibilities of this role. The jobholder is responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young persons for whom they are responsible, or with whom they come into contact with, and will need to adhere to and ensure compliance with the school’s Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy at all times. A Relief Matron should be conversant with the responsibilities and procedures detailed in this policy and with the Department for Education’s Keeping Children Safe in Education. If, in the course of carrying out the duties of the post, the Relief Matron becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety or welfare of children in the school, they must report any concerns to the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead or in their absence the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.
References and Other Pre-employment Checks
The appointment will be dependent upon the receipt of a successful medical check and satisfactory references. The College will usually seek references from shortlisted candidates before interview and may approach previous employers for information to verify particular experience or qualifications. At least one referee must be the current or most recent employer. Where applicants are not currently working with children but have done so in the past, one referee must be the person by whom they were most recently employed when working with children.
HOW TO APPLY
Only applications completed on the school website will be accepted. Please attach a full CV and covering letter with your application.
Closing date for applications: 09.00 on 27 November 2023.
Please note that applications will be dealt with as they arrive. Winchester College reserves the right to appoint before the deadline passes.
Interviews are expected to take place in end November 2023.
If you have any questions about this vacancy or the recruitment process, please email [email protected].
Full details about the school may be found at www.winchestercollege.org
Data Protection
Winchester College collects and processes relevant personal data as part of its everyday operations and is obliged to process it in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Act 2018. The school is the Data Controller of this data under the Act and is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office. Its registration number is Z5751669.
If you have any queries or comments about this policy or how personal data is processed by the school, please contact the Bursar and his team by emailing: [email protected] or by writing to: Data Protection, The Bursary, Winchester College, College Street, Winchester, SO23 9NA.
