Job title: School Caretaker

Location: Darlington 

Pay rate: £15 - £18 per hour

Start date: September 2026 

Protocol Education are working in partnership with a secondary school in Darlington who are seeking a reliable and hardworking Caretaker to join their site team from September 2026.

The successful candidate will take pride in maintaining a safe, welcoming, and well-presented school environment for staff, pupils, and visitors. This role is ideal for someone with experience in caretaking, maintenance, DIY, and site management who can work independently and communicate effectively with colleagues and contractors.

As part of the role, you will be required to undertake a range of maintenance duties including painting and decorating, furniture moving, and heavy lifting, helping to prepare and maintain the school site throughout the academic year.

The Role

• Start date: September 2026
• Location: Darlington
• Daily rate: £15 - £18 per hour (depending on experience)
• Potential for ongoing work and extension
• Full-time position within a secondary school setting

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure the school buildings and grounds are maintained to a high standard.
• Carry out general maintenance, repairs, painting, and decorating tasks.
• Assist with the movement of furniture, equipment, and other items, including heavy lifting where required.
• Maintain site security, including opening and locking up the premises.
• Conduct routine health and safety checks, including fire alarms, emergency lighting, smoke detectors, and fire doors.
• Monitor and supervise contractors working on site.
• Keep communal areas clean, safe, and presentable.
• Report maintenance issues and keep accurate records where necessary.
• Support the wider school team with facilities management and site operations.

The Ideal Candidate

• Previous experience in a caretaker, site supervisor, facilities, maintenance, or handyman role.
• Good practical DIY and repair skills.
• Experience with painting and decorating.
• Physically fit and comfortable undertaking manual handling and heavy lifting duties.
• Knowledge of health and safety procedures.
• Able to work independently and prioritise workloads effectively.
• Strong communication and organisational skills.
• Enhanced DBS on the Update Service or willingness to obtain one.

What Protocol Education Can Offer

• Competitive daily rates of pay.
• Dedicated consultant support throughout your placement.
• Access to a range of CPD and training opportunities.
• Flexible working opportunities.
• Refer a Friend scheme.
• Opportunity to gain valuable experience within a supportive school environment.

All applicants will require the appropriate qualifications and training for this role. Please see the FAQs on the Protocol Education website for further details.

All pay rates quoted will be inclusive of 12.07% statutory holiday pay. This advert is for a temporary position. In some cases, the option to make this role permanent may become available at a later date.

Protocol Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We undertake safeguarding checks on all workers in accordance with the DfE statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, this may also include an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted applicants.
We offer FREE online safeguarding and Prevent Duty training to all our workers. All candidates must undertake or have undertaken a valid enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and subscribe to the DBS Update Service.

Full assistance provided. For details of our privacy policy, please see visit the Protocol Education website.

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