Head of Grounds

About the role

Crosfields is a thriving day school which welcomes girls and boys from 3- 16 years. We blend tradition with modern approaches to education preparing the children not only for their next steps but for the demands of the modern world. Overlooking Reading, it boasts a vibrant community offering a broad and thorough education.

The School is located on a 42-acre site on the outskirts of Reading near Shinfield. The School consists of a number of purpose built buildings in a campus style, including teaching blocks, nursery, theatre, dining hall and sports centre with pool and sports hall.

The grounds consist of sports fields for football, tennis, rugby, hockey, athletics, netball, rounders and cricket including artificial surfaces, wickets and nets area. The extensive grounds are also used for cross-country, has several forest school sites and an outdoor classroom. The School has an extensive match fixture list each week over a variety of sports and age ranges and annually hosts inter school tournaments for football, rugby and cross-country.

Reporting to the Head of Estates, the Head of Grounds will be responsible for maintaining the school grounds to a high standard of appearance and supervising the day to day running and use of the sports fields, grounds, woodlands and gardens.

Key Areas of Responsibility

GROUNDS

• Provide and maintain first-class playing surfaces and sports pitches, including cricket wickets and to ensure the garden and grounds are maintained to an exceptional standard.
• Work closely with our busy and thriving Games Department to ensure you fully understand the Games programme, have a good understanding of Games’ requirements and embrace the need to ensure the School’s comprehensive sports fixtures list runs smoothly.
• Be sensitive to the working environment during school hours, understanding the requirement to balance the needs of the Grounds Department against the needs of the pupils and staff.
• Maintain the cleanliness, tidiness and general appearance of all external areas of the School including gardens and hard surfaces. Manage general waste and recycling around the site.
• Cost-effective delivery of grounds-related services throughout the school with due regard to time and financial pressures, as well as compliance requirements.
• Plan, budget, implement, monitor and evaluate all grounds-related projects (e.g. playing fields, landscaping and grounds development) throughout the School.
• Ensure the efficient maintenance and availability of grounds-related resources at the School, including but not limited to playing surfaces, sports equipment such as football/ hockey goals, rugby posts, cricket equipment, property or structures across the site and grounds-related machinery, equipment and materials.
• Maintain appropriate awareness of grounds industry developments and inform relevant staff how these might affect the School.
• Provide front line grounds services in adverse weather conditions, including snow/ice clearance from pathways around the site.
• Preserve the security of all playing areas and the maintenance of the hedges, fences and gateways surrounding them.
• Prepare, in conjunction with the Head of Estates the annual budget preparation and presentation.
• Plan and budget all works carried out by contractors monitoring quality, cost and performance.

PEOPLE

• Lead, motivate and develop the Grounds team to achieve their tasks, work schedules and objectives, and encourage maximum commitment and efficient service at all times.
• Assist in the administration of Grounds staff induction, probationary periods and performance reviews.
• Encourage the continuing professional development of all members of the Grounds team.
• Hold regular team meetings and ensure that members of the team are up-to-date with developments in the Grounds Department, and the School as a whole.
• Meet with key stakeholders and Head of Estates on a regular basis to encourage school wide communication.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Ensure you and your team promote the wellbeing and safeguarding of our pupils, staff and visitors.
• Ensure you and your team complies with all relevant national and local regulations including Health and Safety, First Aid, COSHH, and environment management.
• Possess a thorough understanding of legislation relating to grounds-related chemicals and dangerous substances and actively promote safe working practices.
• Manage all aspects of Health and Safety training for the team in conjunction with the Head of Estates, including risk assessments.
• Manage the grounds-related facilities, plant, buildings and equipment; ensure that all grounds equipment is correctly stored, maintained and serviced.
• Develop contingency plans and be able to respond to emergencies.

SUSTAINABILITY

• Look to use organic or sustainable methods for grounds management wherever possible.
• Follow and update the site management plan for woodlands, biodiversity, planting and maintenance.
• Foster biodiversity on site, including managing our woodland in a sensitive manner, and ensure that the requirements of grounds upkeep do not come at the expense of the environment.

ABOUT YOU

In order to succeed in this role, you:

• Will have worked in a grounds department, ideally with some experience of leadership and management.
• Are personable, are able to work with a diverse range of people and a good communicator.
• Have a qualification or significant experience in sports turf management Have relevant pesticides training (PA1, PA2 & PA6 Certificate) or will be prepared to undertake training.
• Have experience with relevant machinery required for the upkeep of the sports pitches, including day to day maintenance of the School’s machinery Have a thorough understanding of relevant Health and Safety legislation and how to apply it.
• Have a qualification (NVQ Level 2 is essential, Level 3 is desirable) in Sports Turf Management or similar; those qualified by extensive experience are also welcome to apply.

It will be an advantage if you:

• Have a qualification or experience in sustainable methods of grounds management including minimal use of fertilizers and chemicals.
• Experience in a school environment.

Crosfields School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Applicants must undergo child protection screening, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.