Estates Painter and Maintenance Apprentice in Effingham

The Howard Partnership Trust is seeking an Estates Painter & Maintenance Apprentice to join our Estates Mobile Team. This role plays an important part in ensuring our schools provide safe, well-maintained and welcoming environments for pupils, staff and visitors across the Trust. Working across multiple school sites within Surrey, you will support the Estates Painter & Maintenance team to deliver a programme of redecoration, minor repairs and planned maintenance. You will also contribute to wider estates operations, including assisting with emergencies such as leaks, minor incidents and winter gritting, and providing occasional caretaker cover where required.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality painting, decorating and general maintenance, including preparation, finishing and clean-down of work areas.
• Carry out minor repairs under guidance such as replacing locks, door handles, taps and fittings.
• Support the Estates Mobile Team with reactive situations including leaks, urgent repairs and winter gritting duties.
• Provide occasional caretaker cover, including opening, closing and basic site security checks.
• Work flexibly across Trust schools, meeting agreed timescales and maintaining effective communication with school staff, site teams and the Estates Mobile Team Manager.
• Follow all statutory compliance requirements including COSHH, asbestos procedures, manual handling and working at height guidance (training provided).
• Adhere to Trust policies and safeguarding expectations, following Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance and reporting any concerns immediately.
• Use Trust digital systems to record work, report defects, log near misses and upload photographs where required (training available).

What We Offer

• Full workwear, tools and equipment provided.
• Mileage paid when travelling away from your base school within Surrey.
• Supportive team environment with access to mandatory and additional training.
• Flexible working hours may be possible, depending on operational requirements.
• A range of benefits to include membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme.

This is a fixed term appointment for the duration of the apprenticeship, typically 12-18 months.

About You

You will be keen to learn about painting, decorating or general maintenance trades, along with strong attention to detail and a commitment to high-quality workmanship. You will be reliable, organised and able to work independently as well as part of a wider team. You will also demonstrate professionalism, good communication skills and a positive approach to supporting operational needs across the Trust.

All adults employed by the Trust have a responsibility for data protection and have a duty to observe and follow the principles of the GDPR Regulations. The Howard Partnership Trust is an inclusive employer and welcomes applications from all individuals, regardless of gender, marital status, disability, race, age, or sexual orientation. All applicants must be able to provide evidence of their Right to Work in the UK prior to commencement of employment.

As part of our need to comply with UK immigration rules, you will be required to provide Home Office stipulated documentation prior to interview. In line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance, we may also conduct an online search about any shortlisted candidates as part of our due diligence to identify any matters that might relate directly to our legal duty to meet safeguarding duties.

Safeguarding and Further Information

The successful candidate will be subject to a satisfactory enhanced disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Howard Partnership Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Due to the nature of this role, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. In making your application, it is essential you disclose whether you have any pending charges, convictions, bind-overs or cautions and, if so, for which offences. This post will be exempt from the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Therefore, applicants are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which for other purposes are ‘spent’ under the provision of the Act, and, in the event of the employment being taken up; any failure to disclose such convictions will result in dismissal or disciplinary action. The fact that a pending charge, conviction, bind-over or caution has been recorded against you will not necessarily debar you from consideration for this appointment.