Welcome back to the 2024-25 academic year
Food Technology
Curriculum Intent
We believe food technology offers students of all ages a life skill that gives learners confidence to become independent and functional in the outside world leading to increasingly healthy lifestyles. It also give learners the opportunity to explore a range of foods that ultimately increase their tastes, cultural awareness and skills to prepare them for adulthood. We see this as a fundamental part of school life. We are committed to providing a ‘Practical hands on curriculum’ for our children. We believe that by developing this, we can contribute to the quality of our children’s lives, both within and beyond school. Our curriculum is created to develop our student’s abilities and the skills developed can then be transferred across the curriculum, and therefore aid learning and enhance future life skills.
Curriculum Implementation
Our Food technology curriculum is planned to promote a healthy lifestyle, learn skills for life, use equipment safely and correctly, imbed health and safety within the food room, all which go towards making a good quality finished product. This balanced curriculum helps the students towards their adult life.
We use a varied and differentiated curriculum set for each key stage. We consistently use Q&A’s to help evaluate student understanding within both practical and theory lessons, alongside the use of solo taxonomy, scaffolding and classroom monitor to assess and monitor progress. This alongside regular departmental meetings helps to ensure that the Design Technology curriculum is fit for purpose.
Curriculum Impact
Our children enjoy the self-expression that they experience in all parts of the Food Technology curriculum.
To provide students with the confidence and skills to prepare and cook food safely, hygienically and within a budget.
To broaden the students’ knowledge of food from around the world and from within our multicultural school society.
To provide the knowledge and opportunities to be able to source a range of varied ingredients that go towards living a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
For all learners we aim to create self-sufficient young minds with a passion for healthy eating and exploring new and exciting ways to cook.
Extra Curricular Activities
Intervention
Equal Opportunities and Inclusion
Social Moral Spiritual and Cultural
Food Technology (key stage 3 and 4) and Hospitality and Catering (post 16) is a subject which is well equipped to contribute to students’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education. In every lesson, students are expected to consider the needs and experiences of themselves and others, or come up with their own personal responses to events or dilemmas which prepares learners to take into account the diverse array of beliefs and cultures that they will encounter every day – both inside and outside of school life. This subject equips learners with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary for their futures as citizens as well as professional employees and ensures they, as young people, can be part of a vibrant, cohesive society.
Spiritual
- Providing students with the opportunity to participate in making and evaluating food from other countries learning about others from the world around them.
- Acknowledging and exploring government guidelines for healthy eating and dietary requirements to make healthy life choices.
- By offering feedback and assessment that values pupils’ effort and achievements.
- Mutual respect is developed through the process of peer evaluation of each other’s work and standards. A pupil’s ability to self-reflect is developed through self-assessment.
- Both classroom and practical based lessons in Food offer pupils the opportunity to reflect on their experiences, use their imagination and creativity when cooking.
Moral
- By developing individual skills, confidence, independence and creativity through practical cooking lessons. Pupils learn and make decisions about food safety and hygiene.
- Promoting participation and teamwork in practical cooking lessons – encouraging pupils to work co-operatively.
- Reflecting on the ethical issues around food such as price, income, fair trade, food miles and sustainability. Opportunities are provided to appreciate the views of others.
- Reflecting on the moral issues concerning food production in other countries of the world.
- Lessons and extra-curricular activities are offered so that pupils have enjoyment and a fascination to learn about the food they eat
Social
- Developing partnerships with outside agencies and individuals to extend pupils’ cultural and social awareness i.e. colleges/parents/chefs.
- Social Development and education is a key focus in food technology, looking at how students will develop and mature into young adults.
- Lots of opportunities are provided to enable students to develop team working skills and to take responsibility for their own learning.
- Students are encouraged to consider the social responsibility of the food industry including food choice, issues surrounding food and packaging, as well as wastage. They take part in class debates, thinking about these types of issues as well as the pros and cons.
- Students are taught to teach and help others around them to establish a safe and positive working environment.
Cultural
- Giving pupils the opportunity to explore cultural differences in food and diet – to explore their own cultural assumptions and values.
- Pupils are encouraged to recognise and respect cultural and social differences of other pupils within food lessons.
- Pupils learn to cook a variety of recipes including traditional British foods and world foods.
- Pupils learn about Government guidance given on Healthy Eating and the concern for the health of the British population.